Of all the players who came to the Premier League last season perhaps none faced the level of scrutiny as Antony Matheus Dos Santos, or Antony.
An £80m plus deadline day arrival from Ajax the young Brazilian has already been labelled as an overpriced flop after eight goals and three assists in 44 games plus one famous, or should that be infamous, pirouette.
All of this seems harsh and the young Brazilian could be set to prove the doubter wrong and have a breakout season and here’s why.
Firstly it’s worth remembering that Antony arrived late on deadline day last season. So, despite being a player the manager already knew, Antony still missed out on any kind of pre-season with United to familiarise himself with his new team mates.
Managers often stress the importance of getting players in early in pre-season to get them integrated. Antony missed out on that last season and given the hectic nature of last season, where United played twice a week, every week from September to April and with Antony at the World Cup there was just no time to catch up. This season there’s no such issues and that could make all the difference.
But that’s not all. With Ten Hag at Ajax, Antony often benefited from an under-lapping or over-lapping, right back, usually Nouassir Mazraoui, which allowed him space to get crosses in or hit the byline. Last season Antony wasn’t able to work on the combinations with Diogo Dalot and Aaron Wan-Bissaka which often led to him being double marked ad running into blind alleys and trouble. Now he should be able to work on that which would allow him to do more of what he was bought to do.
It’s also worth remembering that we’re dealing with a young player. At just 23, Antony is still very much learning his craft and Ten Hag will very much help him develop. Playing in the Premier League is different to almost any other league and often a period of acclimatisation is needed, sometimes players just need time to adapt.
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