Anthony Elanga admits he is ‘frustrated’ with his lack of game time at Manchester United recently and will speak to the club about his options in the summer.
Although he featured quite regularly off the bench in the first half of the season, the 20-year-old has played a total of just 49 minutes of football since the January window closed.
Elanga is believed to have had a number of suitors in the winter who wanted to take him on loan – from Everton to Barcelona – but manager Erik ten Hag did not want to deplete his squad.
However, the strong form of Marcus Rashford, the return of Jadon Sancho and Alejandro Garnacho’s pulsating displays has restricted Elanga to just four brief sub appearances since the end of January, while he has not started a game since the Carabao Cup against Charlton.
Elanga was an unused sub in Sweden’s defeat to Belgium on Friday night and he is conscious that, at this stage of his career, he needs to be playing regular football.
Asked about his lack of game time, Elanga told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet: ‘It is frustrating. You want to play, it’s important. But whether you play or not, it’s up to the coach not me.’
He continued: ‘I have spoken to Erik and it is private between the two of us.
‘I know what he wants me to do and I just keep training hard. When the opportunity comes, I just have to be ready to take it.
‘We have a lot of conversations, not only about [the lack of game time] but also what is happening around. That’s the good thing about the club, we talk a lot and they help me a lot.’
On how close he came to leaving on loan in January, Elanga replied: ‘There was talk about it, but right now I’m focusing on United. We still have a big season ahead of us and need to finish as well as possible.’
Probed on whether a rumoured move to Barcelona was a genuine option, he replied: ‘That was in January, I can’t focus on that now.
‘The best thing I can do is focus on the rest of the season [with United] and then I will get to talk to the club.
‘I love the club, but it’s important for me to play. I’m still young. We have spoken to the club and they know what is required and I know what is required.’
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