- 8 hours ago
Ornstein drops Antony update as winger faces uncertain future
Jacque Talbot
- Updated: 29 Nov 2024 12:45 GMT
- 3 min read
Antony's tenure at Manchester United could be coming to an end, according to David Ornstein of The Athletic.
The winger has had a shocking period at United, with the club's second-ever most-expensive signing getting seemingly worse season by season.
Erik ten Hag, the club's recently sacked head coach, demanded that the club bring him in from Ajax in 2022. The Dutch club wanted to keep hold of the youngster, setting his price tag at an astronomical €95 million.
But, under Ten Hag's persuasion, the club matched the price and brought Antony. It's been two seasons and a half for the player at Old Trafford. In 88 games, he has scored 12 goals and provided five assists.
Current ETV
Antony
M, AM (R)
Man Utd
Antony
M, AM (R)
Man Utd
ETV Range
€18.4M - €30.7M
But it does not tell the full picture. For instance, two of his goals came against lower-league sides in the FA Cup last season. While in the Premier League, across 29 games, Antony netted just a single goal and the same amount of assists.
And today Ornstein has revealed that "United could sell to raise funds next summer. Unless he sparks a turnaround, it's very likely that he will leave next summer if they can find a buyer willing to pay enough money."
Antony has another chance to turn his fortunes around at United. Ruben Amorim has come in and squad members have a chance to prove themselves under him. Antony made the starting XI last night in United's 3-2 win over Bodø/Glimt, where he enjoyed a decent display.
Ten Hag preference for Antony
Earlier this monthBen Jacobs, said that the United squad felt as though Ten Hag showed favouritism to certain players and one of the biggest examples of this was Ten Hag's insistence on playing Antony even during his dismal spell of form last season.
It took the Brazilian until the winter to score his first goal but his former Ajax boss, who had insisted on his signing, kept the faith. Jacobs reports that even the players believed that Ten Hag was wrong for sticking with the much-maligned winger over other options such as Amad Diallo, who has since shown that he is worthy of a starting spot in the line-up.
