Manchester United are finally ready to part ways with Antony, having conceded defeat that he is not the player they thought they were getting in 2022.
Towards the end of Erik ten Hag’s maiden transfer window, the club ludicrously forked out an initial £82 million to bring Antony in from the Eredivisie, with the Dutchman seemingly keen to fill his squad with players he’d already coached in some form. In regards to his former Ajax protegees, Andre Onana, Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui and Lisandro Martinez are all currently signings of his choosing at Old Trafford.
However, Antony is undoubtedly the one to have failed the most at reaching the levels fans expected of him. They were granted false hope when the winger scored three goals in his first three Premier League matches for the club, after which his form rapidly declined on a downward trajectory – and it’s yet to come back up.
He retained the faith of his manager for lengthy periods despite his significant lack of output on the pitch – much to supporters’ dismay. For example, the Brazilian started 23 league matches in 2022/2023.
In the following season, it became evident that Ten Hag was gradually losing hope in Antony excelling, as he began to lose his starting spot to counterpart Alejandro Garnacho, who is four years his junior. Antony’s inclusions in the starting 11s were cut to only 15 in total, with him making a further 14 appearances as a substitute. He was also benched for the entirety of United’s final two matches of the term.
Antony has become the forgotten man at Old Trafford
The decision to leave him sat watching on from the sidelines is one that’s carried on into the current campaign. In the Reds’ opening seven matches, the 24-year-old has made only two appearances: a one-minute cameo against Brighton and Hove Albion in August followed by 26 minutes in the stalemate at Villa Park prior to the international break.
Should he decide that he absolutely wants to continue in England’s top flight, Antony does reportedly have two suitors waiting to open negotiations. According to CaughtOffside, Newcastle United and Crystal Palace are set on bolstering their attacks in the winter window and have identified the outcast Red as a candidate to do so.
Similarly, Ajax are also waiting in the wings, hoping to gauge whether a return to Amsterdam would be something that Antony would consider at this stage of his career.
