Antony sets UNWANTED record as Olise emerges as the perfect Man Utd replacement

Cameron Smith

• 9 Feb 2024 15:46 GMT
• 3 min read

When Antony joined Manchester United for €95 million in 2022, it was seen as a vast overpay and that fact remains the case now.

The Brazilian had impressed in the Champions League under Erik ten Hag at Ajax, but his Eredivisie form wasn’t particularly mind-blowing.

He scored eight goals and provided four assists in 23 games during his final campaign in the Dutch top flight, with 19 players in the division tallying more than his 12 goal contributions.

Antony only played 1,736 league minutes during his final year at Ajax, with an ankle injury ruling him out from March until the end of the season, but his form simply didn’t deserve a big-money move to the Premier League.

Despite this, Ten Hag wanted his man and persuaded the Red Devils hierarchy to part with a whopping €95m to sign him. It was a poor decision at the time and looks even worse with hindsight.

This season, Antony is yet to score or assist in the Premier League and has now been displaced by Alejandro Garnacho on the right wing.

The Brazilian is no longer in favour with the manager who pushed hard to sign him, and that’s not surprising given his complete lack of cutting edge in the final third.

Antony’s form over the past 12 months has been notably poor and it’s resulted in the largest Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) decrease of any player in world football since January 2023.

The 23-year-old was valued at €75.6m in January 2023, six months after his big-money move to Man Utd, but that figure has fallen to an ETV of just €36.4m in February 2024.

Michael Olise to replace Antony?

Ten Hag has benched Antony for the past three Premier League matches and given the burgeoning relationship between Garnacho, Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund, the Brazilian won’t make his way back into the starting XI unless something drastic changes.

Despite the form of the aforementioned front three, Man Utd still need attacking depth and Michael Olise is the man they must sign.

The Crystal Palace star is on their summer wish-list, along with Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite, and he must be considered a transfer priority. Olise has six goals and three assists in just nine Premier League matches this season and while his injury troubles are concerning, he is a sublime talent that would elevate Man Utd’s attack tenfold.

With Antony regressing over the past year, Man Utd must sign a replacement and Olise is the ideal candidate.