Antony has struggled since joining Manchester United from Ajax in 2022, and he’s getting increasingly difficult to defend.
After Jadon Sancho signed with Manchester United, Sky Germany came under fire for making fun of him as 007 in a tuxedo and his lackluster performance in seven games with no goals or assists.
After joining from Borussia Dortmund, Sancho struggled to establish himself, so the German media chose to make light of his lacklustre debut by making a joke about James Bond.
If those numbers weren’t too bad, Antony’s record of zero goals and zero assists in 18 games this season is much worse, and he most definitely doesn’t have a pass to have fun.
After joining from Ajax, Antony had a challenging first season, but after adjusting to a new environment, he was given the benefit of the doubt, and it was believed he may improve in the upcoming season.
Instead, the 23-year-old has deteriorated, and because of his subpar performances and inability to contribute in attacking scenarios, even the most partisan supporters can no longer defend him.
In private, United acknowledged that their £86 million gamble on Antony was a mistake and that it has now backfired. Although it doesn’t seem realistic, they believed he would develop into one of the world’s top wingers.
With three goals in his first few games against Everton, Manchester City, and Arsenal, Antony created a great impact, but even at that point, his efforts went unnoticed.
He deserved credit for a strong goal start because, of course, scoring goals determines how a player’s performance is assessed; nevertheless, the goals dried up and the scrutiny increased rapidly.
Even though Antony may be dangerous when cutting inside with his left foot, opponents quickly caught on to his one-dimensionality and he is currently perhaps the most undeveloped player in the Premier League.
It’s amazing that he hasn’t recorded a goal or an assist as Christmas approaches. 2023 has not been kind to him; in the past 12 months, he has only provided one league goal.
Despite a glimmer of a recent comeback, Antony has failed to build on some positive signals, and he now appears to be worth a fraction of the money spent for his signing. As a result, United is already considering cutting their losses.
The Brazilian would have felt unfairly dropped against Newcastle after putting on his best performance of the season against Galatasaray, but since making his way back into the starting lineup, he has performed poorly.
The United supporters have been anticipating Antony’s breakthrough performance and steady performances, but so far that hasn’t materialised. Sancho had the same circumstance, but it never materialised for him.
The five most expensive signings in United’s history—Paul Pogba, Antony, Harry Maguire, Romelu Lukaku, and Sancho—highlight the team’s appalling transfer record.
With Sir Jim Ratcliffe about to arrive soon, United has been the worst football club in terms of acquisitions over the past ten years. With Antony’s signing coming at a cost of millions of pounds, hopefully he will be the last player to perform appallingly poorly.
In his last season in the Eredivisie, Antony only managed eight goals and four assists; given the calibre of the Netherlands’ top division, that kind of performance wasn’t worth the money spent.
Speaking in 2019, Ratcliffe is well-known for calling the £50 million that Fred sang for “dumb money.” It would be interesting to hear his opinion of the £86 million that went into Antony.
Ratcliffe would probably use colourful language, and it’s unlikely that he would record it.