One of Manchester United's few bright spots this season has been Anthony Elanga's breakthrough

"Anthony Elanga will play for us this season," Martyn Pert, a member of then-manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's backroom staff, told Darren Fletcher. It was during Manchester United's preseason friendly against Queens Park Rangers last summer.

If any of the home fans jammed into the main stand at Loftus Road on a hot July day had heard him, it would have seemed like a casual remark.

But the timing was critical.

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The signing of Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund had complicated Elanga's road to the first team just 24 hours earlier. But Pert had seen enough of the 19-year-old's 45-minute cameo in west London to know he could handle the competition.

In an otherwise disappointing 4-2 loss to QPR, Elanga stood out, scoring once and coming close on two more occasions. Despite having a plethora of attacking options at his disposal in the summer, Solskjaer chose to keep the youngster at Old Trafford.

The decision didn't help the Norwegian keep his job; he was fired on November 21 after a string of poor results. But it did help his successor, Ralf Rangnick, who made a point of blocking a loan move in January.

Elanga has made 17 appearances and scored three goals since the German coach arrived on an interim basis in December, including the equalizer against Atletico Madrid in the first leg.

It appears that Pert was correct all along.

Elanga has been with United since he was 12 years old, when his family relocated from Sweden to Hyde in Greater Manchester after his father, Joseph, retired from professional football.

Elanga Sr. was a Cameroonian international defender who played in the 1998 World Cup for his country.

Anthony was born during a professional career halt in Malmo, and as a child, he could count Zlatan Ibrahimovic as a frequent visitor to his family's home. Elanga swapped clothes with Pontus Jansson, whose career intersected with Joseph's in Sweden in 2010, after scoring in a 3-1 win over Brentford in January.

Elanga, who speaks English, Swedish, and French, has now followed Jansson and has been capped as a full Sweden international. He came on as a substitute for the final five minutes of Sweden's 1-0 World Cup qualifying playoff win over the Czech Republic.

On Tuesday night, he played the final 23 minutes of their playoff loss to Poland, but was unable to save his team from elimination.

Regardless of the setback, he owes a great deal to both Solskjaer and Rangnick for allowing him to make his international debut while still a youngster. But he also owes a great deal to his own hard work.

A shoulder injury in January 2021 appeared to be the end of his season, but he recovered in time to impress for the under-23s.

When Solskjaer needed to promote players from the academy to make room for senior players in the Europa League final against Villarreal, Elanga was chosen.

He scored in a 2-1 win over Wolves on the final day of the Premier League season. After his late-season league appearance, he was given the opportunity to spend preseason with the first team, including a substitute appearance versus QPR.

Over the summer, he also worked with a private coach to increase his strength and conditioning. At the start of the season, club personnel had noticed that he was running quicker and jumping higher.

Thierry Henry was his childhood idol, and there's more than a touch of the French legend in the way he plays.

United have nine games to rescue their season and ensure a spot in the top four after a demoralizing derby defeat at Manchester City and a Champions League exit to Atletico Madrid.

It would be no surprise to see Elanga given a central position. His ascension is quickly becoming one of the few bright spots in an otherwise dreadful campaign.

Many unanswered questions hang over Old Trafford, but the future seems bright for Elanga.