Anthony Elanga makes Alexander Isak claim Newcastle United supporters will love
Newcastle United new signing Anthony Elanga has joined up with his new teammates this week.
The 23-year-old, who joined Newcastle from Nottingham Forest for £55million last week, will train fully for the first time with his new teammates over in Austria this week.
The Magpies' first-team squad are in Seefeld for a training camp before travelling to Celtic on Saturday (3pm kick-off) in their first pre-season friendly in front of a crowd.
Elanga watched from the sidelines as Newcastle beat Carlisle United 4-0 in a training ground friendly on Saturday.
Newcastle’s squad has since been bolstered by the returns of Bruno Guimaraes, Dan Burn and Anthony Gordon following international duty with Brazil and England, respectively. The attendance of Martin Dubravka, Odysseas Vlachodimios, Sandro Tonali and Alexander Isak is yet to be confirmed, with no official squad list being disclosed by the club.
A reunion with Isak is something Elanga will be particularly looking forward to having played alongside him for Sweden and played against his several times with Nottingham Forest.
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Anthony Elanga makes Alexander Isak claim NUFC fans will love
As part of his quickfire questions asked following his arrival at Newcastle, Elanga was asked the ‘best player’ he has ever faced in his career.
After a brief pause, the winger said: “Great question, Alex Isak.”
It’s a fair claim from Elanga, who has witnessed Isak score four times in three appearances against Forest in the Premier League. Isak also scored a brace in a 2-1 win over Forest at the City Ground prior to Elanga’s arrival.
Now the pair can link up at club level and form a fast and powerful attacking line made in Sweden.
Alexander Isak loves Anthony Elanga transfer
Following his arrival at Newcastle, Elanga took to Instagram to post an images along with the caption: “I’m a Geordie now! ⚫️⚪️Happy to be here at this great club but more importantly I’m ready. Can’t wait to see you all.”
The post got Isak out of a brief Instagral hiatus since the end of the 2024/25 season as he simply replied: “😍😍😍😍.”
Discussing his pre-existing relationships within the Newcastle squad, Elanga said: “[William Osula] is like my little brother.
“I’ve known him for a long time. When I was at Manchester United, he came on trial when he was 12, so I’ve known him for a very long time.
“He’s not changed. He’s still the same Will Osula that everyone knows. He’s told me amazing things about the club. He’s one of the reasons that I wanted to come and join, he talked so highly of it [the club].
“Saw him today and couldn’t stop smiling.”
Elanga added: “I’ve spoke to Alex and Emil [Krafth] a lot. I spoke to Sven [Botman], I was in a training camp in Portugal with him last summer. I’ve spoken to Ant Gordon and a few other lads as well, actually.
“Tino [Livramento], I played with Tino in an England Under-14s training camp so I’ve known Tino for a long time. Getting to know the lads is important because it makes me settle much easier.
“When I came through the building today it felt like I’ve been here for longer than two years so I’m just happy to see everyone and I’ve still got a few people to see, but it’s a great start.”