Whether Man United have a buyback clause for Anthony Elanga after Nottingham Forest hero downs Ruben Amorim

Anthony Elanga came back to haunt Manchester United on Tuesday night.

The Sweden international scored a remarkable solo goal in just the fifth minute to hand Nottingham Forest a 1-0 win over the Red Devils, a result which keeps Manchester United 13th in the Premier League.

In regards to Nottingham Forest, Nuno Espirito Santo’s side remain third, in what has been a truly impressive 2024/25 campaign. They are also in the semi-finals of the FA Cup.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LiverpoolLiverpool	29	21	7	1	69	27	42	70
2	ArsenalArsenal	30	17	10	3	55	25	30	61
3	Nottm ForestNottingham Forest	30	17	6	7	50	35	15	57
4	ChelseaChelsea	29	14	7	8	53	37	16	49
5	Man CityManchester City	29	14	6	9	55	40	15	48
6	NewcastleNewcastle	28	14	5	9	47	38	9	47
7	BrightonBrighton	29	12	11	6	48	42	6	47
8	FulhamFulham	30	12	9	9	44	40	4	45
9	Aston VillaAston Villa	29	12	9	8	41	45	-4	45
10	B’mouthBournemouth	29	12	8	9	48	36	12	44
11	BrentfordBrentford	29	12	5	12	50	45	5	41
12	Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace	28	10	9	9	36	33	3	39
13	Man UtdManchester United	30	10	7	13	37	41	-4	37

After seeing Anthony Elanga race beyond several defenders to score, a number of Manchester United fans are presumably wondering whether a buyback clause was negotiated in the deal which saw him move to the City Ground in July 2023.

Manchester United did negotiate a clause, but not a buyback clause

When selling the Swede to Nottingham Forest for £15m, Manchester United only inserted a sell-on clause into the deal, with no buyback clause agreed upon.

That is according to the Mirror.

However, the value of this sell-on clause remains undisclosed, but even if it is worth just 20%, that could still land Manchester United millions in future if Elanga, who Wayne Rooney admires, maintains his superb form.

The Nottingham Forest No.21 now has six goals and eight assists in 30 Premier League appearances this season, a fine return for someone who has played on the left, right and also centrally.

Anthony Elanga has no hard feelings towards Manchester United

It would be easy for the 22-year-old to feel bitterness towards the Red Devils after they offloaded him, but he remains grateful for what he learned at Old Trafford.

Speaking after Nottingham Forest beat Manchester United 1-0 on Tuesday, Elanga, who Everton wanted, said: “All you want to do is keep on improving. Coming here is about playing and developing. I appreciate Manchester United so much as I learned a lot there. I am enjoying my football and I want to keep on going.”