Legendary Manchester United striker Andy Cole turned 50 on Friday.
Cole was part of the side which won the Treble in 1999, of course playing alongside current United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
At his pre-match press conference ahead of the clash with Leicester, Solskjaer was asked which of his current squad have shades of Cole.
Solskjaer ran through most of his first team strikers, but also namechecked teenage sensation Anthony Elanga.
“Current strikers I’ve got, Cristiano [Ronaldo], Edinson [Martial] and Anthony [Martial] are a bit different,” he said.
“Probably Marcus [Rashford] and Anthony Elanga have part of that electric pace that Andy used to have.
“But they run a little bit more off the ball than he did, because I had to do that running for him!”
Solskjaer did not have to mention Elanga, and he could have spoken about Mason Greenwood instead.
He did and while it may seem like a throwaway line, it should boost Elanga’s confidence. He is obviously in the manager’s thoughts.
Elanga scored for Sweden Under 21s during the international break, and it is five goals in six games for him at that level now.
He said he would be ready if United decided to loan him out in January, given he has made just one senior appearance this season, as a substitute in the EFL Cup loss against West Ham.
Being talked about as having shades of Cole cannot be a bad thing for Elanga, especially from a manager like Solskjaer who was such a good striker himself.
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