As is often the case this season, the good Ant(h)ony was not on the Manchester side last night. Holder during the Red Devils’ new worrying defeat against Nottingham Forest (1-2), the Brazilian struggled to shine, once again giving the sensation of looking for himself in the Mancunian collective. On his side, the former Ajax player served warmed up, which prompted his coach Erik ten Hag to take him out shortly before the hour mark (in the 54th minute).
An increasingly uncomfortable situation for the 23-year-old winger, especially as opposite, Anthony Elanga, trained at Manchester United, shined by delivering the decisive pass for Gibbs-White’s winning goal. Ultimately, the balance sheet also remains alarming for Antony. In 21 matches played this season, the Brazilian international (15 caps) has never been decisive once, whether with a goal or an assist. For an item purchased at a high price (€95 million), doubts are necessarily authorized, even if in its defense, the Mancunian context is still not conducive to development.
Antony gets boned in the English press
Among journalists and consultants, impatience and tensions are still there. After the defeat, legend Gary Neville coldly attacked the club, believing that this recruitment was simply a casting error: “I blame Manchester for recruiting him for 85 million pounds (95 million euros). It’s not this boy’s fault that he was named as one of the most expensive players in world football. But he should never have been recruited for this award“, the former Manchester United player said on Sky Sports. Words that go hand in hand with what was indicated The Athletic these last weeks. According to the media, Manchester United scouts had estimated Antony’s price at 25 million euros during the Ole Gunnar Solkasjer era.
But eager to find his player headed to Ajax, ten Hag had pushed hard to get him back on his arrival, ultimately for four times as much. For his part, the Daily Mail also hit the player after his performance yesterday, giving him the worst rating of the match (4.5), inevitably accompanied by a harsh assessment: “A miserable evening for the former Ajax star. Barely had an impact in the match before being replaced by Amad Diallo at the start of the second half. Former Wales international Robbie Savage also called for concern over the BBC : “look at the standards of players like Antony. Maybe he will develop, but at Manchester United, are the number of goals and assists he has good enough? Absolutely not. And today he was not good. » Could Manchester United have been deceived on the merchandise? This is the idea that dominates on December 31, where the atmosphere promises to be anything but festive in Carrington.
