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Anthony Elanga: The perfect fit for Eddie Howe's Newcastle

by Olly Hawkins · 19 July 2025, 14:02
Anthony Elanga: The perfect fit for Eddie Howe's Newcastle

Our 700+ day wait for a major first-team signing is over. Anthony Elanga has signed for Newcastle United.

A £52m fee that could rise to £55m and a five-year deal, with the Swede landing on Tyneside, immediately joining our pre-season training camp in Austria and featuring in the second half at Celtic on Saturday.

Eddie Howe, at last, has a new right winger. Miguel Almiron's replacement and some much-needed support for Jacob Murphy; who was outstanding last season but requires more help.

We're adamant Elanga is a superb fit for Howe's Newcastle, both on and off the field, and have detailed below 10 key reasons why we see this as a brilliant signing.

1. Electric pace and athleticism 

In a recent post shared on his Instagram, Elanga was filmed running 100m in just 10.93 seconds, clocking a max speed of 39.75 km/h. To put that into context, the fasted speed in the Premier League last season came in at 37.38 km/h from Spurs' Mick Van de Ven.

But how does Elanga use this burst of speed and explosiveness? His pace can be..

  1. Destructive on the counter attack, as the goal (see below) shows his ability to carry the ball at pace over long distances, which could be huge in certain Champions League away days where we'll see less of the ball.
  2. Dangerous when making darting runs in behind, which I'm sure quality passers Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali will love. This was a feature last season, as several of his goals came from him coming off the line and behind opposition defences.
  3. Help him beat his man against set defences, with the burst of pace key to getting that yard of space against low blocks, whether it's cutting in on his left to shoot or making room for a cross on his right.
  4. Used to add to our press or cut off passing lanes, with speed (see Gordon and Isak) only making defenders or goalkeepers panic more than closed down.


Elanga's pressing stats at Forest are nothing to write home about, but I'm sure Howe will have plans to improve this area of his game, knowing he has a fit, athletic, incredibly quick and willing learner to work with.

Next season, we will almost certainly have one of THE quickest font threes in Europe, spearheaded by Alexander Isak with two electric Anthony's either side.


2. Premier League proven and early advantages 

This idea that Eddie Howe doesn't like to buy from abroad confuses me when you consider some of our biggest and best deals have come from La Liga, (Isak), Ligue 1 (Bruno and Botman) and Serie A (Tonali), but there is no doubt that a Premier League proven talent offers a lower-risk investment with early advantages.

The lower risk element refers to what we've just seen Elanga do in this very league, where he delivered a career best 18 goal involvements at Nottingham Forest and and assist tally (11) that was only bettered by Jacob Murphy (12) and Mo Salah (18).

You could argue that, in a Newcastle side that see more of the ball, score more goals and have better players than Forest, Elanga could take his output to the next level, especially with Howe's coaching, Bruno's creativity and Swedish teammate Alexander Isak all alongside him.

As for the 'early advantages' you gain from a player who arrives with Premier League experience, Elanga won't need that added time to  adapt or settle that most overseas arrivals require. He's lived in England since he was 11, he's played 113 games at this level and he's already supremely fit, which we'll touch on later.

3. He's VERY two-footed

In an interview with the BBC last season (which you can watch below), Elanga revealed that he spent eight months of lockdown working on his left foot, and it's clearly paying dividends.

This isn't just impressive because, five years later he is now comfortable with both feet (as the stats prove), but it shows his determination to improve and strong work ethic; all things that make him perfect for a manager like Eddie Howe.

Since 2021/22 (his first full season with Man Utd), 55.1% of Elanga's shots have come from his right foot and 36.4% with his left. Opta reveal that this gap of 16.7% between shots on each foot is the fifth smallest, with only four players having more of an equal split of left and right footed shots in that time.

Not only does this two-footed trait help the quality and volume of efforts off both feet, it adds massively to his unpredictability when trying to beat his man, get a shot off or work space for a cross, either in space or against a low block.

These two goals below in Forest's win at Ipswich last season are a nice example. The first shows him cut in from the right and finish brilliantly with a cultured footed strike, while the second shows no hesitation to shift the ball to his right foot and finish calmly after using his pace to burst in behind:


4. Versatility 

It's no secret that Eddie Howe LOVES a versatile player, which can be seen with Joelinton's ability to play LCM or LW, Anthony Gordon's coverage of the entire front line, Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes' flexibility to switch from No. 6 to No. 8 roles and Tino Livramento's equally impressive displays at right and left-back.

Elanga's ability with both feet boosts his potential to play down both flanks, but he is effective in both roles, as Forest fans will tell you.

But he can also play in central roles, especially if setting up to play on the counter. While 63 of his career appearances have come down the right and 55 down the left, he has played as a central forward on 39 occasions.

Should Gordon and Barnes be unavailable at any stage next season, he can easily play down the left. At a push, we could also see him play centrally when needed,

This graphic from Transfermarkt show all the positions he has covered in his career, highlighting his flexibility:

image.png

5. The tools to improve; on and off the ball 

Elanga seems highly motivated, humble and a hard worker, but he's still only 23 and arrives at a club where current boss Eddie Howe has developed a knack of improving players; on and off the ball.

Just look at what he's done with Murphy's output - offensively and defensively - along with Gordon's numbers and Harvey Barnes' fitness levels. The former didn't arrive with great numbers at Everton, yet delivered 28 goal involvements the season before last, while Barnes now looks far more capable of matching the defensive work and pressing Howe demands than when he first arrived from Leicester.

As mentioned earlier, Elanga's current defensive stats aren't particularly impressive when it comes to pressing, interceptions or tackles, but just look at these sprinting stats between Gordon and Elanga:

image.png

Last season, no one spent a higher proportion of their Premier League minutes sprinting than Gordon and Elanga.

Elanga has plenty to work on in terms of cutting off passing lanes, protecting his full-back and learning the triggers and traps we set up to press opponents, but his sheer pace, willingness to learn and ability to sprint regularly in games will give Howe hope that he'll soon be a valuable asset; in and out of possession.

His willingness to learn and improve was also very clear in his first official interview for the club:

“I feel like he (Howe)can improve each and every single area of my game. I’ve still got loads of improvements to do, and I’m young still. I’m striving for more, for myself, always that extra percent, and I feel like he’s gonna help me a lot.”

“Every coach and staff member here will help me a lot. Even the nutritionist, I could go through each and every one of them – they will all help me get better. And that’s the mentality I’ve got. I always want to improve, I always want to become the best version of myself every day.

“I think when I get asked a question ‘What’s my best game, what’s my best assist, what’s my best goal?’ I always say it’s gonna be the next one, because that’s the kind of player I am.”

“Coming here is the right step and it’s the perfect time for my career to elevate even more – having a manager like Eddie to work under will be amazing.”

6. Incredible durability and injury record 

Perhaps the most underrated part of Elanga's game is his injury record and consistent availability, which is extremely rare for a player with his explosive pace.

Not to curse it, but his 'injury history' section on Transfermarkt shows not ONE entry. That is remarkable considering how often he sprints, as mentioned above, and how often he plays.

In the last two Premier League seasons, he’s missed just TWO games. In that time, Joelinton has missed 27, with Barnes failing to feature in 22.

Elanga has played 82 games in all competitions over the last two seasons, which says a lot about his durability, fitness levels and potential to be a consistent option for Howe to utilise.

This is huge to help him come with Howe's high-intensity demands in training and in games, but shows he is more than capable of coping as we bid to compete on four fronts next season, where the Premier League, Champions League, Carabao Cup and FA Cup could see us play 50-60 games over 2025/26.

7. Intense trainer: tailormade for Toon?

This point is clearly a big part of the reason he barely misses games and you can see how hard he works off the pitch, whether it's the intensity of his training videos documented online or the superb shape he's got himself into, adding muscle to his skinny frame when a youngster at Man Utd.

Elanga's pace, power, injury record and explosiveness prove that he is a superb trainer who not only looks after his body, but constantly strives to improve.

Not only are his gym videos incredibly impressive (see below), it sums up his approach to fitness and conditioning that he was doing one to one sessions in Portugal with a personal trainer the day Newcastle agreed a fee and flew him in for a medical.


8. A great character added to the group

Elanga's first interview was incredibly impressive, highlighting his intelligence, excitement to be here and determination to improve under Eddie Howe.

I also saw an interview with Dion Dublin for the BBC last season (watch below) which shows another side to the likeable Elanga, who talks about his move to England as a young boy and hard work to reach where he is today, with one example being eight months of non-stop work during COVID to improve his weak foot!

Howe is very specific when it comes to the characters he allows into his Newcastle dressing room and we're convinced a great one has arrived in Elanga, who can help replace two big misses in Callum Wilson and Sean Longstaff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJinTRGX2tA

9. The Isak link and added benefits 

Elanga knows Alexander Isak well both on and off the pitch, which can do no harm on a few fronts.

His arrival won't make Isak sign a new deal, but it all helps, and gives the pair a stronger chance of linking up effectively in game given they have already played a lot of minutes together at international level.

Considering Jacob Murphy's superb link up with Isak and the number of occasions he'd assist the Swede last season, Elanga's prior knowledge and pre-existing partnership with Isak will only grow now the pair are club teammates.

Discussing Isak in his first big interview at Newcastle, Elanga said:

“He (Isak) someone I know really well on and off the pitch. Obviously I had the opportunity to play with him at international level.

"I think getting to play at a club level will make things a lot better, we’ll be able to improve our connection even more."

Newcastle United transfers Q&A: Anthony Elanga and James Trafford latest, Isak contract - Chronicle Live

10. Osula not the only connection!

Last but not least, it's already clear that Elanga has several strong connections at Newcastle, with close friend Will Osula not the only Mag he knows well.

Once again, this will only help him settle on and off the pitch, with Elanga revealing that he already has prior connections to Botman, Livramento and Gordon, not just old friend Osula and fellow Swedes Isak and Krafth.

“It’s exciting, not just with Alex – I’ve spoken to Alex and Emil a lot – but all round the team. I trained with Sven last year in Portugal, and I’ve spoken to Ant (Gordon).

“I also played with Tino in an England under-14s camp, so I’ve known Tino for a long time.

“Osula’s like my little brother. I’ve known him for a long time. When I was Man Utd, he came on trial when he was 12. He’s not changed! He’s still the same Will Osula that everyone knows. He’s told me amazing things about the club. 

“If you know people already, it makes the working situation easier and being able to speak different languages helps me communicate with players too.”

Newcastle need more signings and added momentum ahead of the 2025/26 season, but Elanga's arrival is a strong start that we must build on.

A great character, incredible athlete and exciting Premier League talent with the potential to take his game to the next level under Eddie Howe.


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