Ian Wright has been left bewildered by Erik ten Hag’s decision to sign Antony – as have most football fans – over in-form West Ham United duo Mohammed Kudus and Edson Alvarez.
Antony rounded off yet another big-money transfer window at Old Trafford in the summer of 2022 – the first of Erik ten Hag’s tenure. The Dutchman, having just left Ajax, opted to bring the winger and Lisandro Martinez along with him, though only the latter has lived up to the expectations of his move.
Signing on an eye-watering £86 million package which, at the time, made him the fourth most expensive transfer in Premier League history, Antony has shown very little to warrant such a price tag; across 2023, he registered just one goal and two assists in 33 league games.
You’d struggle to pinpoint exactly what the 23-year-old brings to the squad, as even the skilful flair that he so frequently displayed in Amsterdam is yet to be recreated in a tougher division. Taking on and beating his man is often out of the realm of possibility for Antony.
Arsenal legend Wright analysed the Brazilian’s form in comparison with his former Ajax teammates Kudus (£38m) and Alvarez (£35.4m), both of whom have shone in their transition to England and have been pivotal in the Irons moving to sixth-placed – above United – in the table.
Wright on Ten Hag’s perplexing transfer choices
Speaking on Premier League Productions, Wright explained: “With the constant stick they are beating him [Ten Hag] with, Alvarez and Kudus at West Ham…
“Two players he had himself and it’s baffling to me that you do sign Antony over Kudus. I don’t think we have needed to see too many games where you look at Kudus’ output to Antony’s output and then think ‘How can you choose this guy over this guy? When this guy is definitely doing a lot more’. The same with Alvarez.”
Kudus, who is the same age and position as Antony, has already tallied six goals and an assist in his first 16 appearances.
