Manchester United’s hierarchy privately concede that they overpaid for Antony last summer, according to reports.
The Brazil international has shown flashes of his talent since his £85 million move from Ajax and has scored five goals in 16 appearances so far.
Manchester United spent £85m on signing Antony from Ajax last summer (Reuters)
But the 22-year-old has already faced criticism for some his performances this season under Erik ten Hag and many believe United have not seen a good enough return on their investment.
According to ESPN, United’s board accept they spent too much on signing Antony from Ajax but maintain there were three key reasons why they agreed to such a significant outlay with Ajax.
The report claims that United felt there were a lack of alternatives to Antony in his position on the right side of Ten Hag’s attack. United are said to believe that interest in the Brazil international would have been even higher in the summer, which would have raised the winger’s price.
A United source told ESPN: ‘We’ve paid for the player we think he can become, not the one he is now.’
It’s also claimed that United were ‘impressed’ by Antony’s motivation to make the move to Old Trafford.
Antony was Erik ten Hag’s top target to improve Manchester United’s right flank (AFP via Getty)
Ajax were unhappy with Antony’s conduct in the weeks leading up to his move to United but Ten Hag insisted that his former club were aware of the winger’s desire to leave.
‘Antony’s departure couldn’t have been a surprise for Ajax,’ Ten Hag told VI last month.
‘In January they already knew he would leave in the summer. We had three names on the list for the right forward position, he was already on the list at Manchester United before I arrived.’
‘Antony’s management was very clear to Ajax [in January]. They said: “In 6 months time, Antony will make a transfer”.
‘Then we started working on getting another Brazilian in to replace Antony, and Steven Bergwijn.’
Andy Cole says Manchester United youngster Alejandro Garnacho is ‘more exciting’ than £86m signing Antony
Antony completed a £86m move to Manchester United last summer (Picture: Getty)
Old Trafford legend Andy Cole reckons Manchester United youngster Alejandro Garnacho is ‘more exciting’ than £86m summer signing Antony.
Antony has made an encouraging start to his Premier League career following a big-money move from Ajax last summer.
The 22-year-old, who became the fourth most expensive signing in Premier League history, has scored five goals in 16 games for Manchester United, including two in his last two appearances.
Despite Antony’s contributions, United legend Cole is ‘more excited’ by Old Trafford starlet Garnacho, who has played 16 first-team matches.
Garnacho, who narrowly missed out on a place in Argentina’s World Cup squad, has scored two goals and made three assists in 14 appearances this term.
When asked who he believes has more potential between the Manchester United duo, Cole told Casinos En Ligne: ‘Garnacho excites me more to be honest.
‘I think he’s busy and aggressive when he gets on the ball and he always wants to take people on. He looks to drop a shoulder, go past his defender and get crosses in or get his shots off.
Alejandro Garnacho has made 16 first-team appearances for United (Picture: Getty)
‘As a centre forward like me, when you’ve got a winger like that who wants to put the ball in that makes my mind up early doors because you know you’re in the game.
‘I think he’s a really talented player and I’d love to see him get more action this season.’
Antony and Garnacho both started for Manchester United in their EFL Cup quarter-final win over Charlton on Tuesday night, with Antony breaking the deadlock in the 3-0 victory.
Red Devils boss Erik ten Hag said: ‘We had to be in the semi-final so we did a job. Our objective was to get through so compliments to the team.
‘The only thing maybe I’m not that happy with is that we didn’t finish the game earlier. We created chances in the first half, especially Alejandro Garnacho.
‘There was a great save from their goalie but in the second half, we took an extra pass and we didn’t score. But we didn’t allow them that much and if there was something, Tom Heaton was there.
‘One of the standards of this team is that substitutes have to be ready to come on. We saw it today, they were ready to play well when they came on the pitch. See [Facundo] Pellistri – he was lively and he made a good assist.’
Source: metro.co.uk
