The numbers that show Anthony Elanga may not have it all his own way at Newcastle United

Our Football by ONE series recently shone a light on Newcastle United in the Chronicle. Using Opta data our Insight Analysts ingested this into Seriös ONE to uncover insights into Eddie Howe’s squad ahead of the new campaign. Led by Seriös Group’s Senior Insights Analyst Jay and Insights Analyst  -  Football Specialist Adam, the team broke down how the Magpies are shaping up.

One of the most intriguing storylines surrounded the right-hand side of Howe’s attack, where new signing Anthony Elanga and fan favourite Jacob Murphy were set to battle it out.

The Toon boss had been desperate to add Sweden international Elanga to his midfield mix after his electric form for Nottingham Forest. 

But Howe had been just as keen to keep hold of magic man Murphy after the do-it-all winger enjoyed his best season yet in a black and white shirt. The stats confirmed that Newcastle then boasted two standout Premier League stars.

Murphy reinforced his growing reputation as a Magpies cult hero that season on his way to bagging 8 goals and 12 assists.
But £55million man Elanga wasn’t far behind as he helped propel Forest into Champions League contention.

Alexander Isak’s Swedish team-mate netted 6 times in the top flight and assisted 11 goals for his former club.

Being able to call upon two equally dynamic attacking midfielders could only help Howe’s cause as Newcastle look to juggle the demands of the Premier League with the Champions League. Significantly, Elanga also matched up well with Murphy in terms of his determination to track back and win possession at every opportunity.

Very much in the mould of Murphy, and fitting the Howe blueprint to a tee , the former Manchester United man loved nothing better than recovering the ball and winning it for his team in the attacking third.

According to stats from our Insight Analysts, Elanga and Murphy were almost identical players in every respect. There was next to nothing separating the two players, meaning that despite Elanga’s arrival, it was not a foregone conclusion that he would start every game.

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