Nottingham Forest ace breaks silence on ghosting claim after manager’s public call out
Anthony Elanga has opened up on conversations with Sweden boss Jon Dahl Tomasson on his international return
Nottingham Forest’s Anthony Elanga wants to draw a line in the sand on his return to the Sweden squad, after being publicly called out by the national team boss, Jon Dahl Tomasson.
The winger has been named in his country’s squad for matches against Luxembourg and Northern Ireland during the international break.
Elanga was left out of the Sweden squad during the November international break, despite his brilliant form for Forest in the Premier League, with Tomasson saying he was keen to talk to the Reds ace but had been unable to get hold of him.
Elanga has linked up with his national teammates in Marbella before facing Luxembourg on Saturday and Northern Ireland next Tuesday – and, speaking at their training camp, he opened up on reaching out to Tomasson before his recall.
“I just wanted to call him up and talk,” he said. “We had a very good chat, we talked about everything, how I am doing in Nottingham and how life is.
“It was a very good chat, he is a very good coach and a fantastic person. I wanted to call him up and talk.”
Asked about why Tomasson was unable to reach him, Elanga added: “Now I’m here and … We’re talking two, three weeks ago. I don’t remember much of what happened then. A lot has happened in recent weeks. What has happened has happened. I just want to look ahead.”
Nottingham Forest’s Anthony Elanga speaks out on drama as he says ‘it doesn’t affect me’
The 22-year-old came off the bench to score in Sweden’s 5-1 friendly win over Northern Ireland
Nottingham Forest forward Anthony Elanga has spoken out on his drama with Sweden manager Jon Dahl Tomasson.
The 22-year-old came off the bench to score in his country’s 5-1 friendly win over Northern Ireland on Tuesday, continuing his goal-scoring form that helped the Reds beat Ipswich just before the March international break.
But it’s what happened after the goal went in that raised eyebrows. Elanga celebrated his goal by hugging Tomasson just months removed from an apparent spat.
Tomasson had left the former Manchester United man on the bench for two games in October. This reportedly annoyed the player, who allegedly refused to attend a team dinner and answer calls from the national team boss.
Elanga was subsequently dropped from the squad for the November fixtures. But it appears the pair may have smoothed things over given his recall for the two friendlies against Luxembourg and Northern Ireland this month.
Speaking to the Swedish media, Elanga told Expressen: “It doesn’t affect me. I am fully focused when I come here. I just focus on what I do on the pitch. Yes, 100%. It’s always nice to score. But the most important thing was that we won.”
