The Red Devils manager has chosen to integrate Anthony Elanga into the first team instead of loaning him out.
Three players from three different generations of Manchester United’s academy scored for Ralf Rangnick’s side in their victory over Brentford.
Youngster Anthony Elanga opened the scoring before Mason Greenwood, and Marcus Rashford extended United’s lead. Brentford’s Ivan Toney made it 3-1 with a late striker, but it was not enough to overshadow the Red Devils’ great performance.
Elanga, in particular, received praise after scoring his first goal of the season for United. The 19-year-old has appeared in six of Rangnick’s ten games in charge, quickly developing into a regular first-team player.
In a post-match interview after the Brentford game, Rangnick revealed he had cancelled a loan move for Elanga.
He said (via Mirror): “I must say, from the very first day of my first training session, he showed up,
“l had heard his name before and I was in my hotel room watching videos of him on YouTube and I thought ‘this boy is really good’.
“He was almost on his way out on loan. I told him ‘You will not go out on loan, you will stay here’ and he has developed in training.”
Earlier this season, Elanga received his first senior call up to play for Sweden. However, Rangnick refused to release him for the friendly game, showing he considers the youngster as an important part of his squad.
Speaking after the game, the winger paid tribute to the German manager for acknowledging his hard work.
“I appreciate the boss so much and you can see in training, the intensity, how much we are running,” he told BT Sport.
“If you put the work in, you’ll get rewards in games and that’s what I want to try and do every day; try to work hard and train the way I want to play.”
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