Ralf Rangnick reveals he had to speak to Man Utd hero Anthony Elanga to stay after wonderkid asked for a January transfer

MANCHESTER UNITED boss Ralf Rangnick has revealed he convinced Anthony Elanga to stay at the club after he asked to be loaned.

The 19-year-old has been one of United’s finest players of recent, and scored just five minutes into the pitch Champions League draw with Atletico Madrid.

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But he has found opportunities that were hard to come by for the first time under head coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer before that.

That prompted him to push for a loan move – with the Championship said to be the destination of choice.

But Rangnick, 63, blocked his exit after being impressed with what he saw of the boy during training.

Speaking after the match against Atletico, the 63-year-old said: “Of course, aside from his name, I’ve heard of his name before but not as a player because of him. does not play for Manchester United.

“The first training session the night before the Crystal Palace game, he was the player with the best training record.

“I asked my staff about him and learned he has almost decided to leave the club on loan.

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“So a week after the Palace game, I said, listen, I want you to stay and see how you’re doing in practice until the end of the transfer window.

“I think right now he’s just showing what he can in football with the right mentality, the right approach, this is exactly what he did and what he always does in every training session. .”

Elanga was named to the bench during the match in Spain, which may surprise many United fans after his recent performances.

He scored in 4-2 win over Leeds in the Premier League over the weekend and get the game back on in United’s favor.

He is fully aware of his power, of his possessions and of his weapons

Ralf RangnickAbout Anthony Elanga

Rangnick continued: “In all the games he’s played so far, he’s just shown that he’s playing with all the passion and joy, he’s just enjoying himself on the pitch. .

“He was fully aware of his power, of his possessions and his weapons. He always tried to play and show off those weapons. This is what he has done today.

“Apart from the goal he scored, he has two or three great runs and whenever he does, you can suddenly see Atletico having problems with this kind of approach.

“But we also have to show this to other positions, not just Anthony Elanga.

“We have to play like that in every position and if we want to go through in qualifying for the next few weeks at Old Trafford we have to play exactly that.”

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