Manchester United’s Anthony Elanga will not be part of Sweden’s squad for the ‘January tour’, the Svenska Fotbollförbundet [Swedish football association] have confirmed.
Sweden are scheduled to face two friendly matches against their neighbours, Finland, in the second week of next month.
At the start of this month, Janne Andersson, the national team manager, made clear there was a possibility he would include the 19-year-old in his squad for the next two matches, as the Red Devils had “not closed the door”.
On Friday, the Premier League side have communicated to the SvFF that the forward will not be allowed to leave the club for national duty in January.
“SvFF have received a definite message from Manchester United and Anthony Elanga will not join the January tour at the beginning of next year,” a statement from the Swedish FA’s official website read.
❌ Ingen Januariturné för Anthony Elanga
— Svensk Fotboll (@svenskfotboll) December 10, 2021
Andersson, who was hopeful of handing the Manchester United player his first senior appearance, has now expressed his disappointment after being told about the Old Trafford club’s message.
“We’d love to have had Anthony on the January tour, but it’s also great that he started playing in Manchester United. We will continue to follow Anthony closely in the future,” Andersson said.
Elanga has made three appearances this season for United and two of them came after Ralf Rangnick took charge at Old Trafford.
