Manchester United winger Anthony Elanga has expressed discontent with his lack of playing time this season after a January transfer was blocked by Erik ten Hag.
The 20-year-old Swedish international thrived under Ralf Rangnick and was a regular fixture last season, but has struggled for starts since Erik ten Hag’s arrival, with the majority of his 24 outings coming off the bench.
While he was at least a regular substitute in the first part of the campaign, his playing time has been limited to a total of just 49 minutes since the January transfer window closed and the winger is clearly not much impressed about it.
The Swede was rumoured to have had a number of suitors chasing his services during the winter window, with Everton and Barcelona both reported to have enquired for his services.
However, United boss Ten Hag did not want to weaken his squad while the club were still battling on all four fronts.
When asked about his lack of playing time at Old Trafford, Elanga told Swedish outlet Aftonbladet: “It is frustrating. You want to play, it’s important. But whether you play or not, it’s up to the coach not me.
“I have spoken to Erik [ten Hag] and it is private between the two of us.
“I know what he wants me to do and I just keep training hard. When the opportunity comes, I just have to be ready to take it.
“We have a lot of conversations, not only about [the lack of game time] but also what is happening around. That’s the good thing about the club, we talk a lot and they help me a lot.”
In terms of how close he came to leaving in January, Elanga continued: “There was talk about it [a loan move]. But right now I’m focusing on United. We still have a big season ahead of us and need to finish as well as possible.”
Elanga was even quizzed if the Barcelona move was a genuine possibility, to which he replied: “That was in January, I can’t focus on that now.
“The best thing I can do is focus on the rest of the season [with United] and then I will get to talk to the club.
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