Man Utd news: Ralf Rangnick lauded for ‘recreating Louis van Gaal’s Marcus Rashford bond’ | Football | Sport

Ralf Rangnick “special bond” with Anthony Elanga is reminiscent of Louis van Gaal’s unique relationship with Marcus Rashford when the 24-year-old was first thrust into the Manchester United first-team. That’s according to former Red Devils centre-forward Dimitar Berbatov, who claims Rangnick must take credit for the impressive emergence of Wednesday night’s Champions League hero.

Elanga was introduced to the fray in the second half and did not take long to make an impact.

After being played in on goal by Bruno Fernandes, Elanga confidentially struck the ball low, past Jan Oblak and into the net.

The Swede also came off the bench to score in the 4-2 win at Leeds on Sunday in the Premier League, once again showcasing his first-team credentials.

While Rangnick must take responsibility for the club’s inconsistent form over the past few months, he always deserves plaudits for nurturing academy talent Elanga.

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After Elanga’s decisive equaliser at the Wanda Metropolitano, Rangnick revealed he stopped the teenager heading out on loan up arrival in England.

“Apart from his name, of course, I had heard about his name before but not as a player because he didn’t play for Manchester United,” Rangnick said of Elanga.

“The first training session the night before the Crystal Palace game, he was the player with the best training performance.

“I asked my staff members about him and found out he had almost already decided to leave the club on loan. So a week after the Palace game (he came on in the game) I said, listen, I want you stay and see how you are doing in the training games until the end of the closure of the transfer window.

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“I think right now he has just shown what is possible in football with the right mentality, the right approach, this is exactly what he did and what he always does in every training session.

Elanga netted his first senior United goal on the final day of last season at Wolves.

His minutes had been limited this season though until the arrival of Rangnick, who was encouraged by his performances on the training pitch at Carrington.

The tricky winger was on the scoresheet in the 3-1 win at Brentford last month and has used the cameo in west London as a springboard.