Youngster Anthony Elanga has admitted that he was "ready" to leave Manchester United on loan this summer had the club wanted him to.
The teenager, who scored twice for Sweden's Under-21s in their 3-1 victory over Montenegro on Friday, was heavily linked with a temporary exit from Old Trafford throughout the summer transfer window in a bid to secure himself more regular first-team football.
Elanga is considered as a star in the making at Old Trafford and has shown great levels of potential in recent months, scoring on the final day of the 2020/21 Premier League season against Wolves, as well as getting himself on the scoresheet in the pre-season friendly clashes with Queens Park Rangers and Brentford.
Despite that, the versatile forward has admitted that had readied himself for the prospect of heading out on loan, but has insisted that he was happy to remain at United beyond the window closing.
"I was ready if they wanted to loan me", said Elanga, as quoted by Sports Mole. "As a young player you have to be ready, but I'm happy to be where I am at United now and I want to show them what I can do.
"I'm always ready if the coach calls me. I show what I can do in training and if I get the opportunity, I take it."
Having impressed in pre-season, it was always possible that United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would have presented the youngster with a chance to shine at the start of the season. However, he picked up an injury and hasn't been involved yet for the first team in the league this term.
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But having scored twice on the international stage for Sweden, Elanga will now be hoping that an opportunity to prove himself in a competitive sense for United this season won't be too far away.
The 19-year-old could see opportunities presented to him later this month when the Reds get both their UEFA Champions League and Carabao Cup campaigns under way.
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