Skip to Content

The brilliant story behind the shirt swap between Anthony Elanga and Pontus Jansson

The brilliant story behind the shirt swap between Anthony Elanga and Pontus Jansson

Swedish forward Anthony Elanga has emerged as a rising star for the Red Devils recently.

The winger seems to be among new gaffer Ralf Rangnick’s preferred choices and has been getting appearances under his belt as of late.

Due to the absence of Jadon Sancho, Elanga was handed a start at United’s game at Brentford, ahead of Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard.

The 19-year-old certainly capitalised on the opportunity, netting a crucial goal for his side in the second half.

Elated with the 3-1 victory on the night, the youngster took to Instagram and posted a series of pictures, most of them alongside his teammates.

One picture, however, stood apart from the bunch.

The image is question displayed Elanga alongside Brentford centre-back Pontus Jansson, and the pair also looked to have exchanged shirts.

A short while later, Elanga provided further context to the image by posting an older picture.

This one consisted of a much younger Elanga standing alongside his father Joseph Elanga and Pontus Jansson during his Malmo days.

Aside from being fellow countrymen, it turns out Jansson and Elanga share other associations.

The 30-year-old was part of the Malmo side which won the 2010 league Cup, alongside Elanga’a father.

The image was captured during the title celebrations.

Anthony’s father had 2 spells at Malmo, and it was his second spell during which the former Cameroon international shared the dressing room with Jansson.

Coming up against someone who you might have looked up to as a kid can be intimidating, but the 19-year-old certainly handled his own.