One of the busiest weeks off the off season so far has this evening been culminated by Newcastle United announcing the signing of Anthony Elanga from Nottingham Forest.
According to several reports, Newcastle are said to have paid Forest a £55m fee for the winger. If true, they will have made a £40m profit on the amount they paid Manchester United for the player back in the summer of 2023.
After not signing any first team player last summer due to PSR reasons, Eddie Howe’s side will be trying to make up for lost time in the transfer market by strengthening their squad that will be competing in the Champions League for a second time in three seasons.
When Newcastle were last in the Champions League in the 23/24 season, the competition was still played in its old format of six group games. So even if they don’t progress beyond the league phase, they will be playing two more games than they did last time.
So, an improvement on squad depth is key. Signing a player like Elanga is a good start to that. Jacob Murphy had a pretty good campaign last time out, but he was more or less their only right winger, and he is also someone that they would look to upgrade on in the XI as they evolve. Being the back up for Elanga will do for now.
In transition, Newcastle should be very good next season. With Anthony Gordon or Harvey Barnes on the left, Alexander Isak up front, and Elanga on the right, they will fancy themselves to create chances and score goals against anyone with some space to run in to.
Last season, we frequently saw Forest see teams off on the counter attack. No less so than when Elanga himself carried the ball 70 yards to score the only goal of the game at home to his previously mentioned former employers back in April.
There we have another angle to consider. If he stays, Isak should be able to forge a good connection with Elanga, with the two having played together for the Swedish national team. The two playing together each week will help the national team too.
Still, teams will be aware that Newcastle will be most deadly on the break. As a result, we can expect many teams to sit 11 men behind the ball and make it frustrating for them. Does the aforementioned attack have enough creativity to pierce a deep and resolute low block?
Then you look at the Newcastle midfield of Joelinton, Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali. You’ll do well to find a better midfield off the ball. However on the ball, will that trio create enough chances vs settled defences? Guimaraes is the most creative of the three but also plays the deepest role.
At full-back, Tino Livramento has been very good for the Magpies, but is not an overly creative player. The burden is likely to be on Lewis Hall to create chances from left-back, unless they sign another creative player this summer.
Overall, a pretty good signing, and a good fit – but questions do remain if there is enough guile in this side to make that natural progression. Can they build on the Carabao Cup and top five finish from last season? We shall see.
