Manchester United are planning to send Anthony Elanga out on loan next season in a bid to supplement his development.
Elanga, 20, is highly rated at Old Trafford and broke into the first-team picture before Erik ten Hag arrived from Ajax in the summer, but his minutes have been limited under the Dutchman this term.
The exciting Sweden international has started just seven matches and has fallen behind Alejandro Garnacho in the pecking order since the World Cup break. And while Elanga could yet force his way back into Ten Hag's starting XI between now and the end of the season, the next stage of the winger's long-term development has already been mapped out.
According to The Manchester Evening News, Elanga, alongside Facundo Pellistri, is being lined up to spend next season out on loan. The duo will follow in the footsteps of another exciting youngster, Amad Diallo, who has thrived on loan in the Championship with Sunderland this season.
Although he has found his opportunities to impress on the pitch limited this term, Elanga has earned plenty of praise for his attitude after responding to comments Cristiano Ronaldo made prior to his messy Manchester United exit.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner criticised the mentality of younger players during his controversial interview with Piers Morgan back in November, claiming that the current generation of players lack "hunger" and don't care about improving.
Join the debate! Do you agree with Man Utd's plans to send Elanga out on loan ? Let us know here.
Those comments were widely criticised - but Elanga took his former teammate's comments on board. Speaking back in November, he said: "Cristiano talks about young players in general. We are a new generation. I am always 100 per cent focused on what I am doing, but I can understand what he is saying.
"There are a lot of phones and a lot of technology. It's quite easy for young players to get distracted and lose focus. I always focus 100 per cent on my job and what I do. Young players at United are listening, but I can understand what he is saying."
Speaking after Manchester United's win over West Ham at the end of October, Ten Hag pointed out that it was "normal" for Elanga to have played fewer games than he did after breaking through under Ralf Rangnick last year - but stressed that the youngster still has a bright future at Old Trafford.
"He's doing well and he's a young guy," Ten Hag told Viaplay Sweden. "Last year, he came in for a lot of games and this year, obviously, I would say it's normal to drop down in minutes.
"But you can see today he's quite mature and I was happy with his performance. His runs behind were good, he was composed on the ball, his pressing was good. His performance today was good. You can see the power lacked a little bit, like when you don't have a run of games. I'm happy to work with him. He has big potential. I think he can have a really good position in world football."
