“All he does is run with the ball and dives when he loses it” – Manchester United fans label Red Devils star as ‘liability’ after frustrating display in win over Southampton
Manchester United fans have criticized young winger Anthony Elanga for his lacklustre performance against Southampton.
The Red Devils made it two wins from two thanks to a tenacious 1-0 triumph at St. Mary's, with Bruno Fernandes scoring the winner in the 55th minute.
Erik ten Hag's side were fortunate not to give away a penalty midway through the second half when Scott McTominay appeared to handle the ball numerous times. But United held on for a valuable victory as they look to rebuild their season following a disastrous start to the campaign.
We take the three points back to Old Trafford ✔️
#MUFC || #SOUMUN
One player who failed to impress was 20-year-old winger Elanga, who was given another opportunity to start following his good performance against Liverpool on Monday. But the Swedish international did not make much of an impact against the Saints before he was eventually hooked 10 minutes before full-time.
Elanga was taken off for Casemiro, who made his Manchester United debut to help his new team see the game out. The young winger has scored just four times in his 33 appearances for the Red Devils and some fans feel Elanga needs to start contributing more if he wants to play more.
His performance has also prompted many to suggest that United should step up their efforts to sign Ajax winger Antony, who has been linked with a move to Old Trafford for months. Following the full-time whistle on the South Coast, fans took to Twitter to slam the forward's ineffectual performance:
What’s the economic importance of playing Elanga?
The more minutes Elanga plays the more Ajax increase Antony's price
Anthony Elanga is a poor LW & a shocking RW. Like I don’t want to sound too harsh but every time he has the ball I’m expecting us to lose possession instantly.
Having players like Elanga start for us is something I'll never come to terms with.
Elanga is so predictable man all he does is run with the ball and dives when he loses it
Elanga is a liability to the team but some Man. Utd fans were happy he started ahead of Ronaldo smh
Paul Scholes believes Manchester United have to pay 'over the odds' for players
According to The Mail, the 20-time champions of England have reportedly lodged a bid of £76.2 million for Ajax forward Antony.
#MUFC are going to raise their offer for Ajax forward Antony to around €94m including add-ons. 🚨
https://t.co/XOJMFgoDpM
Scholes has questioned whether the Brazilian international is worth that much. He also feels that European clubs are able to charge Premier League clubs a premium price because they know the big clubs will pay huge fees.
Speaking to BT Sport, the former Manchester United midfielder stated:
"Of course, they will take advantage of any club, we have seen it all summer with Chelsea paying over the odds for players. Now I feel a bit for the lad, he obviously wants to come to Manchester United, one of the biggest clubs in the world. He is at a good club in Ajax, don’t get me wrong."
He added:
"I feel a bit sorry for the player, but we will see what happens. The one I would say is, is he good enough? I don’t think he scored that many goals or made that many goals in the Dutch league."
Antony has scored 24 goals and provided 22 assists in 82 games across competitions for Ajax since joining the club in 2020. The forward also has nine caps for Brazil, with two goals and two assists to his name.