Newcastle United summer signing Anthony Elanga has insisted he is motivated by his doubters. He’s convinced he’ll be a success in the North East.
SVT have an interview with the Swedish forward today. His ‘slow start’ to life at Newcastle was on the agenda.
He joined the Magpies for €58.89m, with an additional €3.4m taking that up to €62m. That move came after impressing at Nottingham Forest over two seasons. He scored 11 goals and recorded 21 assists for them in 82 games.
He has not hit the ground running for Newcastle, though. In 17 games in all competitions to date, he is yet to score a goal or register an assist.
That’s deeply disappointing given how much Elanga cost Newcastle this summer. They had certainly been hoping for more, particularly given the right-wing position has been seen as a weak one for Eddie Howe’s side. Elanga was meant to solve that particular weakness.
It’s led to plenty of criticism for the Swedish international. But he’s not bothered about that in the slightest. In fact, he uses such criticism as a purely motivational tool.
“In football, things happen quickly,” he said.
“You can play one, two games and then start on the bench ten games in a row. So, you just have to be ready all the time.
“We have the League Cup, the Champions League, the FA Cup which hasn’t even started yet and then we have the Premier League too. So, it’s important for me to be healthy so the opportunities will come, he says and continues.
“You always get hungry; you always want to start and try to help the team. When you start and play several games, you build momentum. It’s important for a footballer to have that.”
