Nicky Butt has hailed £55m Newcastle United man as a 'fantastic young footballer' who has matured over last 18 months
As much as Bayern Munich bosses would like everyone to think otherwise, Newcastle United are pretty good at getting value for money in the transfer market since Eddie Howe took over.
The higher-ups at the Bundesliga side have made a lot of noise about Newcastle overpaying for Nick Woltemade, and the same was said when the Magpies spent £55 million on Anthony Elanga from Nottingham Forest.
Nick Woltemade is already paying back his fee with three goals in four games, while it is taking Anthony Elanga a bit longer to get going.
However, the Sweden international picked up the Player of the Match in Newcastle's Champions League clash against Union Saint-Gilloise in what many are calling a breakthrough performance, so we could be about to see why Newcastle chased him so hard for over a year before finally landing their man in the summer.
Nicky Butt praised Anthony Elanga for slowing his game down and working on his final ball
Elanga has shown flashes of brilliance so far, but hasn't hit the heights he did at Nottingham Forest, which Nicky Butt has now told the BBC is a long way from where he was at Manchester United when Butt was coaching there.
“Fantastic young footballer.
“Very pacey, but always struggled with the final bit of the game – the creativity, the crosses, the goals. Now he has got to a level, getting into the area and taking people on, putting some amazing balls into the box.
“I think he has matured over the last 18 months with the final little bit and got to know his game. Instead of being 100mph, he’s slowing himself down and getting in the right decisions, concentrating on that final ball.”
Anthony Elanga is starting to look the real deal already
That final ball has been an issue for all of Newcastle's forwards this season, but things are finally coming together on the pitch, and Elanga, in particular, looked very dangerous last night, getting to the byline and playing balls into the box.
Indeed, it was a delightful Elanga cross that ultimately set up the first goal.
So, as for overpaying, only time will tell whether that is the case, but the market and the selling club drive the prices; it's not really down to us what we pay for the players we want and need. And let's be honest, have we got one wrong yet under Eddie Howe? The worst deal we did was Lloyd Kelly, and we made a £20 million profit on him six months after signing him.
