Anthony Elanga outlines Mitchell van der Gaag and Steve McClaren impact at Manchester United

The Ralf Rangnick era won't be one to look back on fondly for many at Manchester United, but Anthony Elanga was a beneficiary of the German's arrival and having made his breakthrough he is determined to kick on under Erik ten Hag.

The academy graduate looked set to leave on loan in January, but Rangnick took a shine to him and he made 26 appearances after the change of manager, scoring three times.

Having caught the eye of Rangnick, Elanga now has to do the same with Ten Hag and he made his first start of pre-season in the 4-1 win against Melbourne Victory on Friday night.

READ MORE: Rashford has passed the first Ten Hag test

The selection of Elanga was intriguing, as he was the only non-enforced change from the team that beat Liverpool 4-0 in Bangkok on Tuesday night, which suggests he might be in contention with Marcus Rashford for the role on the left of United's attack.

Elanga was replaced by Rashford at half-time, having come on for his fellow academy graduate earlier in the week, and the 20-year-old has set his sights on taking his game to another level this season.

"I want to be able to take my game to the next level, I want to build on what I did last season, make it even better. That’s why I’m using pre-season, going game by game," he said.

"When I say take my game to the next level I want to be able to score more goals, make more assists. Affect the games, be a danger player, be a starter for Man United, which I think is a dream for any young lad coming through the academy. That’s what I’m trying to achieve, aim for."

Ten Hag has worked the players hard in pre-season so far, improving fitness levels in the squad and on the evidence of two games he wants them to press aggressively this season.

Elanga has been