Ruben Amorim responded to a question regarding Anthony Elanga with defiance, after the former Academy graduate’s goal saw Nottingham Forest beat Manchester United.
Manchester United felt the full force of Anthony Elanga’s resurgence since leaving them on Tuesday night, as the Swedish forward danced by five or six challenges to smash the ball past Andre Onana in the United net.
Elanga, who failed to score in the final 17 months of his time at Old Trafford, has since become one of the most highly-rated young players in the Premier League, with only Cole Palmer being more impressive statistically from players under the age of 22 in the division.
Ruben Amorim was asked whether it was upsetting for United to watch Elanga be successful with Forest in his post-match interview last night but responded to the question with honesty and defiance.
Amorim responds to Elanga form
Amorim was honest when discussing whether it hurt the club to see Elanga, detailing that just because a player is successful when they leave United, it doesn’t mean they would have been effective had they stayed.
“No, they have to perform at Manchester United. We can’t look at the players that go away. They had their chance at Manchester United,” he explained
“We are talking about a lot of players that come from Manchester United, and they are doing right, but they had the chance here. The pressure is too big sometimes. Sometimes you don’t have time. For that, you need a strong base to support all these kids.”
Elanga played 55 times for United and only managed eight goal contributions. Amorim was clear that it does not matter what the Swedish forward is doing at Forest now; it matters what he did at United during his time at the club, and it wasn’t enough to warrant keeping him at the time.
The United manager also makes clear that this isn’t solely the players fault and suggests that perhaps when Elanga was breaking through, the right foundations for youth to thrive were not in place.
The Portuguese coach also makes a point that if the club fails to do that in the coming seasons, more kids coming from the academy could suffer a similar fate to Elanga.
United were right to sell Elanga
At the time when United sold Elanga, few argued with it and felt it was a mistake. Hindsight is an incredible thing, and the forward is currently doing brilliant things, but he wasn’t doing that at United, and it didn’t look like that was going to change.
Ralf Rangnick was a huge fan of Elanga, and very early on in his career at the club, the Forest attacker looked to be the next big thing at United, but his form dwindled after that first season, and he failed to nail down a regular place at the club under Erik ten Hag.
The pressure at United is different, and better players have crumbled under it; Juan Sebastián Verón and Diego Forlan are two that come to mind straight away, and many more before and after them. It’s a different battlefield to most, with only perhaps the unforgiving nature of the Bernabeu and the Nou Camp of Real Madrid and Barcelona coming close to mimicking that pressure and weight of the shirt.
Signings of Jadon Sancho and Antony not going as well as the club hoped have led to discussions and arguments such as the one currently presented, but Antony’s form at Real Betis pays even further homage to Amorim’s point about the pressure at United just being too much for some players.
There is an argument that Elanga never becomes what he currently is had he remained at United, and that simply comes down to a better environment, with less pressure, allowing a good player to thrive.
Being good at Nottingham Forest is a lot easier than being great at Manchester United, and United need players to become great if they are to ever challenge again.
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