On September 1, 2022, Manchester United signed Brazilian Antony Matheus dos Santos from Ajax. The Red Devils manager sought the winger’s signature for a not inconsiderable £86m.
The high price tag makes him the second most expensive signing for Antony United, behind Paul Pogba.
Antony still has to repay chief Erik ten Hag’s faith in his quality. Despite a dazzling start to his Manchester United career in which the winger scored against Arsenal on his debut, he has put in a string of disappointing performances since.
On Tuesday night, the Red Devils played a dominant game against Nottingham Forest, coming out 3-0 winners. United’s return to Premier League football was a glorious occasion with goals from Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Fred. On the other hand, Antonio’s performance left a lot to be desired. The number 21 has failed to contribute a goal or an assist in his last 11 games for club and national team.
Another Brazilian talent that has gone begging?
Although an emotional Antony was selected to represent Brazil in Qatar, he only started one match for the Seleção.
Tite, the coach of Brazil in the World Cup, chose to play Raphinha and Vinicius Jr on the wings ahead of Antony.
Antony has undoubtedly had flashes of brilliance, but die-hard United fans will remember the undeveloped potential of Brazilian signings of the past. The likes of Anderson and Kleberson arrived at Old Trafford surrounded by excitement, but ultimately failed to deliver.
Antonio must take a step forward
Also, the Ten Hag boss currently doesn’t have many attack options. Marcus Rashford is in top form, but he can’t take the responsibility of scoring alone. Similarly, Anthony Martial is playing again and again between the goals, but the Frenchman is susceptible to injury.
Combine those concerns with the loss of Cristiano Ronaldo and the absence of Jadon Sancho, and it’s easy to see why all eyes are on United’s successful signing from Ajax.
You need to rise to the occasion sooner rather than later.
The only consolation at this point in the season for manager Ten Hag is wunderkind Alejandro Garnacho. Garnacho burst onto the scene early in the season before the World Cup break.
The youngster always looks like a threat when he’s on the pitch.
Despite being mired in drama off the pitch for most of the season, United are playing well on it.
A player neither lacking in confidence nor skill, as evidenced by his wacky 360-degree spins, Antony must turn around and restore the confidence of the Old Trafford faithful in his potential.
