'Always' - Anthony Elanga's 66-word Newcastle United response to Alexander Isak Liverpool links
Anthony Elanga is embracing the prospect of playing for Newcastle United alongside his international teammate Alexander Isak.
Elanga joined Newcastle from Nottingham Forest for £55million last week to become the club’s first major summer signing.
The 23-year-old winger has been away in Austria this week for a pre-season training camp with his new Newcastle teammates ahead of the opening friendly match in front of a crowd at Celtic on Saturday (3pm kick-off).
Since Elanga’s arrival, the Newcastle transfer discourse has been dominated by the future of Alexander Isak and the club’s pursuit of a striker.
Liverpool went public with their intention to make a move for Isak but have instead turned their attention to Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitike instead. Ekitike was also targeted by Newcastle but their interest cooled after a £69.5million bid was rejected for the 23-year-old.
In turn, Isak looks likely to stay at Newcastle for the coming season at least.
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Anthony Elanga on joining Newcastle United
Isak and Elanga have been training together as club teammates for the first time this week.
But when asked if the striker was a big reason why he chose to join Newcastle, Elanga replied: "There were a lot of factors that played into it. The city, the fanbase, as well as Alex, Anthony Gordon, Bruno [Guimaraes], Joelinton, Joe Willock and also winning a trophy after 70 years.
"Getting that winning factor back into the city. They came so close but now they have a trophy.
"I think that played a huge part. You can see in training, the intensity and competitiveness, it is second to none.
"It is something that I feed off. I really want to feed off it and use that fuel to show it in games.
"Even in pre-season, starting with Celtic, using the winning mentality and showcase what we are about this season. That has been a huge factor.
"Alex is one of the best players in the world, there is always going to be noise around him. He's somebody I know from my national team so I know how good he is.”
Speaking via Sky Sports, Elanga said: “You look at this team, I could go through them all. I’ve been here for a week and feel like it’s been forever.
“A player like Alex, he is one of the best strikers in the world and we all [the squad] want to play with him [next season].
“There is always going to be rumours, but training with him and playing at international level with him has been amazing.”
Anthony Elanga looking to make an impact at NUFC
Elanga admitted it was a ‘no-brainer’ to join Newcastle once Forest had accepted the bid. The winger is set to make his Premier League debut against Aston Villa at Villa Park on August 16 (12:30pm kick-off) with his first competitive home match coming against none other than Liverpool at St James’ Park on August 25 (8pm kick-off).
"I am really excited to put on this black and white shirt,” Elanga added. “It has a lot of history.
"It is something I really want to buy into. First and foremost, playing my first game will be amazing.
"I want to form partnerships with everyone, even outside the pitch, different people. On the pitch, communicating, that rapport and that team spirit is vital.
"For me it is about learning from everyone. We are going to need everyone if we are to win games this season.
"We are a team at the end of the day, we win together and lose together, for me that is the most important thing."