Anthony Elanga


Anthony David Junior Elanga is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a forward or winger for Premier League club Newcastle United and the Sweden national team.

Early life

Elanga was born in the Hyllie ward of Malmö, Sweden, when his Cameroonian father Joseph Elanga was playing for Malmö FF. Besides his native Swedish, Elanga speaks English and French.

Club career

Manchester United

Youth

After playing for IF Elfsborg and Malmö FF in Sweden, Elanga's family moved to England and settled in Manchester. Elanga briefly played for local club Hattersley, and was scouted by both Manchester City and Manchester United before joining United at the age of 12. Elanga debuted for the United under-18s at the age of 15 in a 2–1 away defeat to Liverpool in April 2018. He signed as an academy scholar at United in July 2018, and scored four goals in 22 appearances in his first full season playing for the Under-18s.
The following season, Elanga played twice for the Under-21s in the EFL Trophy, both as a substitute. He finished the COVID-shortened season as the Under-18s' top scorer in the league with seven goals in nine appearances, and won the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year award. He played four times for the club's under-21 side in the 2020–21 EFL Trophy, scoring twice.

2020–2022: Debut and breakthrough

Elanga made his first-team debut for United in a pre-season friendly against Aston Villa ahead of the 2020–21 Premier League season; he came on as a substitute for Marcus Rashford in the 75th minute of a 1–0 defeat. After signing a new long-term contract with the club in March 2021, he was called up to the first team for the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League quarter-final matches against Granada in April, but was an unused substitute in both legs, as well as in the second leg of the semi-final against Roma on 6 May.
Elanga made his competitive debut for the club on 11 May in a league fixture against Leicester City. He was replaced by Marcus Rashford in the 66th minute as United lost 2–1. He started again away to Wolverhampton Wanderers on the final day of the league season, and scored his first United goal after 13 minutes. Elanga scored his second league goal for United on 19 January 2022 in a 3–1 away win against Brentford, his first of the season. On 4 February that year, Elanga missed his team's last penalty in a 8–7 shootout against Middlesbrough during their FA Cup tie, knocking United out of the Cup for the season. On 23 February, Elanga scored his first UEFA Champions League goal against Atlético Madrid in the Round of 16 first leg, the final score was 1–1.

Nottingham Forest

On 25 July 2023, it was announced that Elanga had signed a five-year deal with Nottingham Forest for a reported £15 million transfer fee. He scored his first goal in a 1–0 away win against Chelsea on 2 September. On 26 December 2024, Elanga scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory in a Premier League home game against Tottenham Hotspur. On 1 February 2025, he provided a hat-trick of assists in a 7–0 victory over Brighton. On 1 April, Elanga scored the only and winning goal for Forest against his former club Manchester United. He concluded the 2024–25 season with a career-high six goals.

Newcastle United

On 11 July 2025, Elanga joined Newcastle United for a reported £55 million transfer fee. On 16 August, he made his debut for the club in a 0–0 draw against Aston Villa in the league.

International career

Elanga was eligible to play for Sweden, Cameroon, or England at international level. He has represented Sweden at under-17, under-19, under-21, and senior levels.
Elanga played five times for the Sweden under-17 team and scored two goals, both against France in the 2019 UEFA European Under-17 Championship. He played his first game for the Sweden under-21 team and scored one goal in a friendly against Finland on 3 June 2021.
Elanga chose to represent Sweden at a senior level, citing being born and having spent the majority of his life there, as well as the country meaning a lot to him as the reasons behind his decision. He was named in the international squad of Janne Andersson for the World Cup qualifiers against the Czech Republic in March 2022, where he also made his debut as a late-game substitute.
Elanga scored his first goal at senior international level on 5 June 2022 in a 1–2 loss against Norway in a 2022–23 UEFA Nations League B game.

Career statistics

Club

International

Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Elanga goal.
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
15 June 2022Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden1–21–22022–23 UEFA Nations League B
227 March 2023Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden5–05–0UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying
316 June 2023Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden4–14–1Friendly
425 March 2025Strawberry Arena, Solna, Sweden5–05–1Friendly
55 September 2025Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia1–02–22026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Manchester United
Individual
  • Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year: 2019–20