What Could Antony Bring to Manchester United
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Rumours have been rife over the past year of a potential transfer for Antony, away from Ajax to Manchester United. With current Ajax manager, Erik ten Hag, hotly tipped to become the new Manchester United manager, a move for Antony in the same direction becomes more likely.
The question is, what can Manchester United fans expect should the Brazilian arrive at Old Trafford this summer?
Antony joined Ajax from Sao Paulo in February 2020 for a fee believed to be around £13 million. He has since played for the Brazil national football team, having made his debut in October 2021, scoring a goal from the bench against Venezuela.
Antony may start in the right wing position but he does not stay out there when receiving the ball. He likes to come inside and attack the goal on his left side rather than beat a man on the outside to get in a cross.
Antony has had 79 shots in total in the Eredivisie this season and 67 of those attempts have been with his left foot. The Brazilian has 8 goals to his name in the Dutch topflight and they have all been scored with his left foot.
Even when attempting to create a goal for a teammate, Antony will work the ball onto his left foot from the right side of the pitch. This often leads to a cross towards a teammate at the far post, with the ball curling over the heads of the central defenders.
Antony has a cross success rate of just over 25% this season, which is a decent return but he will need to take that up a level to become a standout performer in the Premier League.
Dribbling with the ball is another area which Antony will need to improve if he is to become a top Premier League for Manchester United.
He has a dribble success rate of 56% for Ajax this season, which is modest but it is worth noting the type of opponent Antony faces for Ajax when playing in the Eredivisie.
Teams tend to drop off against Ajax, which is something that does not happen as frequently for Manchester United in recent times. T
here is little space for Antony to break into during games in the Dutch league but that could be different when playing for Manchester United, especially against the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool, and Chelsea.
Antony may also need to work on the defensive side of his game if he is to thrive in the Premier League. This season to date, Antony has been dribbled past 23 times in the Eredivisie, at an average of once per match. He has won just over 50% of his attempted tackles, meaning half the time his opponent will come away with the ball.
So, there is no doubting the attacking quality of Antony and what he could bring to Manchester United playing off the right side. However, the Brazilian is not the finished article and may need some time to develop into a world class player.
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