The unthinkable demand Nottingham Forest made to Newcastle United for Anthony Elanga
Newcastle United are close to agreeing a deal for Nottingham Forest winger Anthony Elanga, ending a long transfer saga which has dragged out for over a year between the two Premier League sides.
The Magpies are edging closer to their first major signing for their starting XI since 2023, and it is a deal that has many fans excited.
Anthony Elanga was brilliant in the Premier League last season, registering 17 goal involvements in 38 appearances. Newcastle United have been interested in Elanga for over a year now. Their admiration for him was widely publicised after a deadline day bid was placed for him and offered Miguel Almiron in exchange for him. Nottingham Forest rejected the deal and Elanga helped them qualify for the Conference League last season.
Now, Newcastle are very close to the signing of Elanga, with reports suggesting that Forest are happy with Newcastle’s up-front offer for the 23-year-old. A deal totalling £55m is on the table, which looks like it will be enough to get it through.
With Elanga to Newcastle almost done, TalkSPORT journalist Alex Crook has revealed that the Magpies were in talks with Elanga in January, but Eddie Howe quickly shut them down after a bizarre demand from Forest.
Nottingham Forest wanted Jacob Murphy in exchange for Anthony Elanga
Newcastle’s January transfer window was hardly positive. The sale of Almiron and the exit of Lloyd Kelly to Juventus reflected how PSR was still a lingering problem at the time. It was also another transfer window without an addition to the starting XI.
It was widely reported that Newcastle were leading the race for Abdukodir Khusanov in January, but had to back out over PSR concerns. Newcastle fans criticised Paul Mitchell for failing to make any signings, and now that he is gone, he leaves little to no legacy behind.
According to Crook, Newcastle were actually in conversation with Forest over a move for Elanga this summer. However, Forest demanded that they receive Jacob Murphy in return to get the deal through.
Speaking on TalkSPORT, Crook said: “When Forest and Newcastle were talking about a potential deal for Elanga late in the winter window, my understanding is that Forest actually wanted to take [Jacob] Murphy in part exchange. Eddie Howe put a stop to that because he’s such a big fan of Murphy.”
Murphy was one of Newcastle’s best players of the season, scoring some vital goals and registering a high number of vital assists in all competitions, including one in the Carabao Cup final.
Losing Jacob Murphy would have been a disaster for Newcastle United
While that deal would have seen Elanga finally join Newcastle, it makes sense that Howe stepped in to call the deal off.
Hailed as ‘amazing’ by Roy Keane, Murphy was enjoying his best form of the season at the time, linking up well with Alexander Isak to get him firing and contributing as much as he could to secure wins. It would have been an absolute disaster if Newcastle sent him to Forest for Elanga – it would have still strengthened one of their European rivals.
