Elanga is delighted to have linked up with his international teammate Alexander Isak at St James’ Park, but there’s fresh uncertainty surrounding the Swedish striker’s future after Liverpool made their interest known earlier this week.
Newcastle have made it clear to the Premier League champions that Isak is absolutely not for sale, and Liverpool are now closing in on the capture of Hugo Ekitike, with the Magpies accepting defeat in their own pursuit of the 23-year-old and turning their attention elsewhere.
Brentford’s Yoane Wissa is now a leading target for Newcastle, but a bid has not yet been tabled and any efforts to sign the 28-year-old could be complicated after Manchester United made an improved bid worth up to £70million for Bryan Mbeumo. Brentford are reluctant to sell both forwards this summer.
If – as now looks increasingly likely – Liverpool sign Ekitike, it’s not clear whether they’ll still make a bold move to lure Isak away from Newcastle this summer.
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Elanga insists he hasn’t spoken to Isak about the transfer speculation, but says interest from elsewhere is inevitable given Isak’s standing in the game and outstanding form for the Magpies last season.
“A player of his stature there’s always going to be noise around him,” said the £55m winger.
“He’s one of the best players in the world, one of the best attackers in the world.
“I’ve played with him at international level so I can say so. There’s always going to be noise around him but, at the end of the day, he’s a Newcastle United player right now.
“I’m just trying to focus on what he’s doing in training and speaking to him every day.
“Whenever I speak to Alex it’s always about good things – how my family is, how his family is and that’s the first thing (he asked me): how my family is because he sees them all the time when he comes with the national team.
“I always try and focus on the present and the now and Alex being the person he is, one of the best attackers in the world, I think there’s always going to be noise around him but he’s the type of player who is always staying focused.
“What he’s shown in training is second to none and I’m looking forward to continuing training with him.
“Not just him but also Anthony Gordon who I’m also close with. He’s helped me a lot settling in – he came from a different city as well, he’s helped me a lot to settle in. It’s been amazing so far.”
Elanga is relishing the opportunity to line up alongside Isak in black and white, and says the prospect of playing with the striker was one of the reasons he was so keen on joining Newcastle this summer.
“Like I say, it would be great, Alex and me,” he said.
“The best striker in the world and someone that, not just as a player he’s an amazing person as well, so I can always rely on him to go for advice and whatever.
“He’s always going to be there to help me so I appreciate him a lot.
“For me, having him here is amazing. Having played with him at international level, I know exactly how good he is. So, of course, having him here played a part [in Elanga signing] but also Sandro, Bruno, Joelinton, Anthony Gordon – who I also knew really well.
“What they did last year was amazing, getting into the Champions League, winning a trophy after 70 years, that can’t be forgotten about. That played a huge part in me coming here. They have that winning mentality.”
Since joining the club Elanga has sensed a burning desire to build on last season’s success, so can Newcastle mount a Premier League title challenge in the coming seasons?
“I think anything is possible if you put your mind to it,” said the 24-year-old.
“We have to take it game by game and see where it takes us.
“We’re really on the right track. Having been involved in the sessions this week, I can really sense that feeling of we really want to grab something and win something this year.
“We just take it game by game, focus on every session and anything is possible really.”