It is easy to go under the radar as a Nottingham Forest player this season.
By Sam McGuire
Chris Wood, with his 17 Premier League goals this term, is casting a fairly large shadow at the City Ground. Morgan Gibbs-White, rumoured to be a transfer target for Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United over recent weeks, has been pulling the strings for Nuno Espírito Santo’s side too.
Murillo, who recently signed a new contract extension with the club, has caught the eye this term and was even earmarked by some as a potential Virgil van Dijk replacement at Anfield. Matz Sels, a one-time Newcastle United shot-stopper, has been the best goalkeeper in the Premier League this term.
So, lots of standout performers. As a result, some are going a little under the radar.
One such player is Anthony Elanga.
When the versatile winger joined Nottingham Forest for £15million in the summer of 2023, a lot of people thought Manchester United were the winners in that particular transfer.
Elanga had three goals and three assists for the Red Devils across 39 Premier League outings. He struggled to cement his place in the starting XI despite United being incredibly inconsistent at the time.
Getting £15million for him was viewed as a good piece of business.
Looking back now, not so much.
Elanga has been a revelation this term for Forest. It is all the more impressive when you consider just how remarkable Espírito Santo and his players have been. With 14 games left to play, Nottingham Forest are third in the table, three points behind second-placed Arsenal and nine off the top, albeit having played a game more. They are six clear of fifth-placed Manchester City and have given themselves a strong chance of claiming Champions League football.
Who had that on their bingo card at the start of the season?
Elanga has played his part in this campaign. Last weekend, he forced his way into the FotMob Team of the Week for his showing against Brighton. The 22-year-old claimed a hat-trick of assists in the historic 7-0 win. His FotMob rating of 9.5 could only be bettered by one player in the Premier League. It just so happens that the one player was his teammate, Wood, for his three-goal showing against the Seagulls.
Brighton had no answer to Elanga. Deployed in a two-man attack with Wood, the former Red Devil was popping up all over the pitch and causing havoc in the final third. He created the most chances in the match (three), had the highest Expected Assists tally (0.99) and only Wood could better his xG Involvement haul of 1.21.
The Sweden international has threatened this sort of devastating performance all season, if truth be told.
He’s chipped in with assists against Liverpool and Newcastle United. He’s scored against Aston Villa, Spurs and Brentford. Elanga has been responsible for 28% of the goals scored by Forest this term. He’s been extremely influential in their attacking play. And the 19-cap international has seemingly found his form at the ideal time too, having chipped in with six assists in his last seven outings for Forest.
Nottingham Forest’s decision to reject a reported £50million bid for him in the summer is now looking like an inspired decision. According to multiple outlets, Newcastle wanted the versatile attacker and stumped up what would’ve been a club-record sale for Forest. Some clubs would’ve jumped at the chance to make a quick £35million profit on a player they’ve had for 12 months.
Had they cashed in on him, the likelihood is that Forest wouldn’t find themselves six points clear of the Magpies in the race for a place in the Champions League.
The East Midlands club deserve credit on two counts. Firstly, for believing in Elanga enough to sanction a £15million deal when others felt it was an overpayment. And then for rejecting a mega offer for a player, believing he would be worth more to them in their team. The gamble appears to have paid off. If Forest get European football, it’ll be more beneficial to them than the transfer fee they would’ve banked last summer.
And clearly, the belief in him has given him a confidence he’d previously been lacking. It’s why his numbers have scaled. For example, he’s on 11 goal involvements in just 1,463 minutes this season. Last term, he finished with 14 goal involvements in almost 2,500 minutes.
Only Mohamed Salah (13), Bukayo Saka (10) and Antonee Robinson (10) have more assists than Elanga (eight) in the English top-flight. He’s an elite chance-creator. His Expected Assists per 90 average has risen from 0.15 last term to 0.21 this time around. He’s more of a creative threat now and this can only be a positive for Forest. He’s created more chances this term (33) than he managed last season (32).
Wood and Gibbs-White are the poster boys for this historic Forest season but, really, it should all be about Elanga. A bargain buy who is now delivering on his early promise.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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