Anthony Elanga seals £15m switch to Nottingham Forest after leaving Manchester United with the winger signing a five-year deal
- Anthony Elanga has completed his move from Manchester United to Forest
- The winger has joined for £15m and becomes Forest’s second summer deal
- Elanga has been at United since he was 12 and has played 55 times for the club
Anthony Elanga has left Manchester United to join Nottingham Forest in a £15million deal.
The 21-year-old winger has signed a five-year deal at the City Ground and becomes boss Steve Cooper‘s second summer signing after Ola Aina joined on a free transfer last week.
Elanga had fallen out of favour under Erik ten Hag but Forest fought off competition from Everton to secure him, with Elanga thought to have been swayed by the chance to play under Cooper.
He said: ‘It’s a pleasure to be here. It’s a proud moment, not only for me, but for my family as well.
‘It’s the perfect next step for me in my career, it’s a big step and I’m really looking forward to playing in front of the Forest fans at The City Ground.
Anthony Elanga has left Manchester United for Nottingham Forest in a £15m deal
The Sweden international had fallen out of favour under manager Erik ten Hag
‘I had interest from elsewhere, but for me, Nottingham Forest feels like the perfect place.’
‘I’ve been here with United, and from the minute I stepped out for the warm-up, I could hear them from the changing room.
‘It’s a special place, but being here with Forest, I feel like it will be even more special.
‘I’m really ready for the challenge and I just want to embrace everything and get to work.’
The club’s Chief Football Officer Ross Wilson added: ‘Anthony had a number of excellent options in front of him to choose from so we are naturally delighted that from those he has chosen to become a Nottingham Forest player.
‘From the first meeting we had, he was so committed to all aspects of how he can continue to develop working with Steve on the pitch whilst he was also excited and embracing of the ambitions that Mr. Marinakis has for the football club.’
Elanga had a number of teams chasing his signature but picked Forest in a bid to increase his game time on the pitch
Bidding farewell to Elanga after leaving his boyhood club, United said they were ‘proud of the player and person you’ve become’.
The club said in a statement: ‘Anthony has been a fine role model and example for other members of the Academy, and leaves with our sincere best wishes for the future, after Forest won the race for his signature.
‘We would like to thank him for his service at United.
‘The transfer is for an undisclosed fee and we look forward to welcoming the winger back to Old Trafford, with his new team, on 26 August.’
Sweden international Elanga had interest from Everton, Red Bull Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund, but has opted to stay in the Premier League and continue his progress having broken into United’s first team under former boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
He made a total of 55 appearances at Old Trafford, scoring four times.