Anthony Elanga’s return to Newcastle United’s starting XI came with a spark that felt overdue. One half of football at Goodison Park was all it took to shift the temperature around his season, and suddenly the conversation sounded very different.
The 23-year-old’s early months on Tyneside had been stop-start, and sometimes just frustrating. But one thing became clear over the course of his six-week spell out of Premier League line-ups: the message Eddie Howe had been sending finally landed.
A Slow Start Gives Way to Something Brighter
Elanga arrived in the summer carrying a £55 million price tag and a fair amount of curiosity from supporters. He’d been lively, unpredictable, and productive for Nottingham Forest last season, stacking up six goals and twelve assists across competitions.
Newcastle expected that same electric edge. But it didn’t come right away.
His early displays in black and white felt disconnected from the rest of the attack. The Premier League matches looked choppy for him, even though he delivered two standout performances in Europe against Barcelona and Union SG. Fans weren’t sure what to make of that contrast.
Some wondered whether it was confidence. Others thought the adjustment period was bigger than expected. Whatever the reason, the momentum wasn’t there.
And then, after a disappointing outing against Brighton on October 18 — one that saw him subbed off at half-time — Howe hit pause and moved him back into cameo roles.
That spelled six weeks without a Premier League start. Not ideal for a new signing. But maybe necessary.
Howe’s Message Comes Into Focus
Howe hinted during that stretch that Elanga still needed time to understand the “Newcastle Way.” The phrase raised eyebrows because it sounded like a polite version of: he’s not quite getting it yet.
The coach wasn’t harsh. Just honest. And he promised that once things clicked, the attacker would look like a different player.
The way he framed it felt revealing. Many of his tactical ideas depend on rhythm and instinct. If one piece is slightly off, everything else starts wobbling, like a clock missing one cog.
Elanga needed to see it from the outside for a bit.
Howe later said something that probably resonates with a lot of footballers who’ve switched clubs:
Sometimes watching from the sidelines helps you make sense of what the team actually demands.
That’s a tough lesson but a real one.
He suggested that seeing the big picture speeds up understanding, and that being off the pitch often teaches things training sessions alone can’t.
A simple sentence, but pointed:
“You are watching and learning and are able to execute your own respective skills in that way maybe slightly easier.”
A Spark in the First Start Back
And then came Everton. A cold evening. A loud stadium. The pressure of expectation after weeks of waiting.
Elanga delivered. And it mattered.
He looked quicker in thought, sharper in movement, more connected to Newcastle’s patterns. It wasn’t perfect, but it was confident. It felt like the version Howe had been waiting on.
Something had changed. You could almost see the way he pressed with intent rather than guessing, like he finally understood how to pick his moments instead of chasing shadows.
One funny thing about football is how quickly narratives flip. Six weeks earlier he looked lost. One promising half later, he looked reborn.
Why Watching From the Sideline Matters
This is something often overlooked. Fans assume players want minutes at all costs — and of course they do — but sometimes the step backward clears the fog.
For Elanga, that stretch became a small turning point. Not dramatic. Just steady.
There’s a rhythm to Howe’s system. It’s heavy on coordinated pressing and subtle off-ball habits. You can’t fake it, and you can’t wing it.
The winger’s off-ball positioning, which had looked slightly confused before, now seemed much more deliberate. Those tiny movements — two steps back, one sideways, a little half-run to close an angle — suddenly felt aligned.
And the bench time probably helped him understand why those details matter.
One sentence explains it best:
Sometimes clarity arrives from watching what you’re not yet doing right.
Newcastle’s Schedule and Pressures Made It Tougher
Howe also pointed out something subtle. The schedule has been relentless. Matches every three or four days forced constant rotation.
It meant Elanga didn’t have weeks of training to settle in. Instead, he jumped between travel, recovery, and fragmented preparation.
Many new signings have dealt with the same thing. And it’s telling that Howe framed his time out of the XI as part of the schedule rather than a punishment.
It adds context to why the transition looked bumpier than expected.
A player can’t adjust without repetition. And repetition gets messy when the calendar is crammed.
What This Means Going Forward
It’s still early, and nobody inside Newcastle’s camp will pretend the story is suddenly complete. Elanga has more to prove. And he knows it.
But the simple fact remains: the Everton performance showed something new — or maybe something rediscovered.
There are moments in a season when a player finds the thread, pulls it, and suddenly things unravel in a good way. Saturday felt like one of those moments.
A new signing finally looked like himself. A manager finally saw the version he’d hoped for. And the team suddenly gained a weapon that had been stuck in standby mode.
It’s the kind of spark that often sends a season down a different path.
And honestly, it’s the sort of storyline Newcastle needed right now — a reminder that some of their biggest improvements may still come from within.
