Ahead of Nottingham Forest’s visit to Old Trafford this weekend, George Edwards asks the question: what to do about the form of widemen Callum Hudson-Odoi and Anthony Elanga?
Anthony Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi have failed to fire in a red shirt of late, but why is that, and how can they strive to improve as Nottingham Forest continue to surprise?
For two years under Steve Cooper, homegrown superstar Brennan Johnson was the Reds’ sole wideman, tasked with scoring goals, creating chances and spearheading his boyhood side to infinity and beyond.
The Welshman was incredible in his output and contribution but alone in doing so, supported only by the overlapping Djed Spence or the central figures of Philip Zinckernagel and Morgan Gibbs-White. Forest’s lopsided attack was an issue never solved until Johnson’s departure last summer, with Callum Hudson-Odoi and Anthony Elanga brought in to replace quality with quantity.
Maybe a bit harsh, the duo certainly have quality in abundance but lack both the consistency and the composure in front of goal that their predecessor had; the reason, perhaps, that Johnson is at a ‘big six’ club and Forest’s duo aren’t.
Even last season Forest, still struggled with width at times, operating with Morgan Gibbs-White out wide for a stint and struggling dearly if either Hudson-Odoi or Elanga weren’t available.
They both possess attributes that make them very decent Premier League players. Not many players can find the far corner with the instep of their right foot better than Hudson-Odoi, and very few can beat Elanga in a footrace, alongside his transformative set-piece delivery this season.
Yet if Forest were going to strengthen in the summer, they had to provide competition and depth in that area, and that they did. Fan favourite Jota Silva has certainly imposed himself from the bench, earning his first two Premier League starts in Forest’s last two fixtures, while Ramon Sosa’s selection of cameo appearances have been full of drive and desire.
However, despite Forest’s impressive and surprising start to the season, creativity and dominance from their wide players has come in patches, and has largely dried up in the Reds’ recent run of games.
Of their 16 goals in the league this season, only five have been either created or scored by a member of their wide quartet, with their electric counterattacking goal at Anfield the only real display of what Hudson-Odoi and Elanga can provide together.
Manager Nuno Espirito Santo has always been wary of dropping Hudson-Odoi with his frightening ability to score a goal out of nothing something worth taking a gamble on. Frustrating really, when having been starved of the chances he craves in Forest’s last few, two perfect openings fell to Elanga’s right foot at the Etihad, with Hudson-Odoi looking longingly on from the bench.
The former Chelsea man’s lack of defensive discipline could be cited as to why Nuno left him out for that one, but his ball retention skills went amiss, with both Elanga and Jota Silva often wasteful in possession on a night when the Reds had to find a way to keep the ball on the few occasions they had it.
Jota from the start is an interesting one. You always know he’s about with his marauding presence and cynical nature, but his impact feels best felt from the bench, when his side needs a new lease of life and an injection of energy.
However, Jota is perhaps the only one of the four who can work off nothing. He wins headers against Van Dijk, harries defenders into corners and always wants to be near the ball. A stark contrast to the other three, Hudson-Odoi and Elanga in particular, who crave service from midfield and support from their fullbacks to be at the very top of their game.
It’s hard to decide on an answer to the problem, with Elliot Anderson and Morgan Gibbs-White’s return to fitness looking vital to provide service to Forest’s widemen. Elanga and Hudson-Odoi remain undoubtedly first choice, and rightly so, both with the ability to change a game with one moment of bliss.
For the Swede, confidence and finishing are key to his success. We know he has the ability to beat a man but the confidence to do so has faded of late, and for the impact he has upon games — with Man City being one of his most prominent — he lacks the final killer instinct in and around the penalty area.
Hudson-Odoi needs involvement. Part of him looks to miss Ola Aina, with his best run of form in the Garibaldi coming when the Nigerian was bombing past him, something Álex Moreno has tried to replicate but hasn’t quite succeeded at. A player of his quality should never go missing and that desire to get on the ball, whether it be on the edge of the box or inside his own half, must return if he is to hit the heights that we know he can.
Ramon Sosa will crave more minutes and Jota, albeit a strength of his play, needs to just slow things down when the time to do so is right.
Forest sitting prettily in sixth and still having this conundrum proves their incredible progress this season and shows they aren’t reliant on a single source to win them games. Nuno is a manager who fosters confidence, and the purpose and directness of Forest’s attacking wingers will only return with confidence, hopefully starting at Old Trafford this Saturday.
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