Anthony Elanga says Erik ten Hag was not behind his decision to leave Manchester United as the winger hinted he’s been impressed by the Dutchman’s managerial career to date.
The 21-year-old left Old Trafford to join Nottingham Forest in a £15million deal. He joined United at the age of 13 and had his breakthrough season under interim boss Ralf Rangnick during the 2021/22 season.
Elanga’s opportunities were then limited under Erik ten Hag, which resulted in United accepting an offer for the winger from Forest last summer. It did not take him long to show what he is capable of in a Garibaldi Red shirt, providing an assist for the Forest winner against United in December.
While he may not have been given opportunities to showcase his best at Old Trafford, Elanga does not hold any grudge against Ten Hag. “No, I wouldn’t say that [Ten Hag was the reason for his departure]. I just wanted to play, that was especially important to me.
“I’m young and don’t want to sit on the bench all season, you know? When you are young you want to play, you want to make mistakes, you want to take risks,” he told Dutch outlet Soccer News.
“But he wasn’t the reason for my departure. I focused mainly on myself, not on others.”
Asked about whether he hoped to flourish under ten Hag like Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt did at Ajax, Elanga added: “Of course I also saw what he did at Ajax. But when you come to England, everything is different.
“He has made several players better, Ryan Gravenberch for example, who now plays at Liverpool. But I just wanted to take my chance and go somewhere else and that was a good decision, because at Forest I’m having a good time.”