Should his Manchester United career continue the way it has since he joined in 2022, Antony is on course to cement his place atop the club’s worst-ever signings.
While there have undoubtedly been some howlers on the list, ie. Alexis Sanchez, Angel Di Maria, Memphis Depay and so on, it’s Antony’s £86 million price tag that will forever set him aside from his counterparts.
Of course, he had no say in the fee Ajax demanded for him two years ago. He was actively pushing for his desired Old Trafford move back then, but the Amsterdam outfit were initially blocking sale after already sanctioning several key exits throughout the summer window; Lisandro Martinez joined United for £57m while Andre Onana and Noussair Mazraoui left as free agents to Inter Milan and Bayern Munich respectively. Ironically, the duo have since reunited with Erik ten Hag, too.
After Antony forced his way out of the club by refusing to train, he became the final part of Ten Hag’s puzzle for his maiden season in the dugout.
Now navigating his third campaign as a Red, Antony has just 12 goals to his name in 84 appearances across all competitions. Last season was particularly dire, as he scored only three times in 38 outings: twice in the FA Cup and once in the Premier League.
He opened his account for 2024/2025 last night, converting a first-half penalty during the Reds’ Carabao Cup triumph over Barnsley at home. Ten Hag confirmed post-match that, with Bruno Fernandes initially rested, Marcus Rashford was next in line to take penalties. However, he opted to give responsibility to Antony to help boost his confidence.
Antony has been a disastrous signing in every aspect, says pundit
Yet, when weighing in on the 24-year-old’s performances on talkSPORT, Simon Jordan suggests it’s almost too little, too late for Antony to be considered a success.
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“Of course, there is a pressure, and of course, there is an expectation because if you spend big money on players, naturally you expect big outcomes,” he began.
“If a £25m footballer doesn’t succeed there’s less noise around it. In this instance, with Antony at £25m, he would have been a bad buy because he’s been poor, and everything about him has been poor.
“He’s brought nothing. What has he brought to Manchester United besides headlines? Certainly nothing on the football field.
“So at £25m, you would be saying it’s a waste of money. At £85m, you’ve got to look at the manager and ask why he bought him, especially as he knew him.”
