“We are the worst team maybe in the history of Manchester United,” said Ruben Amorim after Sunday’s 3-1 defeat at home to Brighton. The manager had paced up and down the touchline as his side managed just one shot on target in the match – and that was a Bruno Fernandes penalty.
United were always going to need time to adapt to the manager’s ideas but even he knows that a return of 11 points from 11 games is not good enough. “Imagine what this is for a fan of Manchester United, imagine what this is for me,” said Amorim. “We are getting a new coach who is losing more than the last coach.”
One of Amorim’s problems is that he is working with a group of players who were signed to suit his predecessor. Erik ten Hag was given plenty of freedom to pursue the players he wanted to sign. At times he only seemed interested in players he had worked with before, most recently summer signings Noussair Mazraoui and Matthijs de Ligt.
Ten Hag was also influential in the club’s decision to sign Antony from Ajax for €100m in 2022. The Brazilian had a brilliant start, scoring in his first three Premier League games – against Arsenal, Manchester City and Everton – but his collapse since then has been so extreme that he must go down as one of the worst signings in Premier League history.
The 2022 window was dominated by United’s failed pursuit of Frenkie de Jong. Going into his first campaign at the club, Ten Hag sought to assemble a squad that would buy into his philosophy and his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation. Lisandro Martínez moved from Ajax to bolster the backline; Tyrell Malacia was signed from Feyenoord to provide competition and cover at left-back; and Casemiro, one of the most decorated midfielders in history, arrived from Real Madrid after United failed to convince De Jong to swap Barcelona for Manchester.
Yet Antony was the big-money addition, the €100m fee making him the club’s second most expensive transfer in their history after Paul Pogba. The winger had shown promise at Ajax, the manager knew him well and, at 24, he was a good age, so the desire to take him to Old Trafford was understandable. He suited Ten Hag’s 4-2-3-1 setup, where he would start on the right before cutting inside on his stronger left foot.
Ajax, though, must have been laughing all the way to the bank when United agreed to pay €100m for a player who had never broken double figures for goals in his career. Hindsight is 20-20, of course, but anyone with a basic knowledge of European football could see that the Premier League side had their pants pulled down by the Dutch side. It’s the best example of “United Tax” in recent history – and there are plenty of contenders given the club’s six most expensive signings are Pogba, Antony, Harry Maguire, Jadon Sancho, Romelu Lukaku and Ángel Di María. It rarely ends well when United pay big money.
Fast forward to the present day and it seems United supporters have seen the last of Antony. He came off the bench against Brighton at the weekend and did very little, a fitting ending to his desperately disappointing time at the club. The winger is set for a loan move to Real Betis; few at Old Trafford will be sad to see him go.
Antony has registered just 135 minutes of game time in the Premier League this season, with all eight of his appearances coming from the bench. He had already dropped behind Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho and Amad Diallo in the pecking order when Ten Hag was in charge, so there wasn’t going to be a place for him under Amorim.
Antony was given his chance at the club. While he struggled to nail down a regular starting spot, he managed 25 appearances in his debut Premier League campaign and a further 29 last season. He has rarely justified his place, scoring just four league goals in his first season, one last season and none so far this season. He has been directly involved in just eight Premier League goals in two-and-a-half seasons. For a player in Antony’s position, that is a dire haul. United have paid more than £10m per goal contribution; he’s been booked more times (10) than has scored (five) or assisted (three).
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His limitations were clear to see from early in his United career: he doesn’t score goals, set up goals, beat players nor contribute much to build-up play. When he did break down the right wing, he did not have the pace or trickery to beat opponents. He has only completed 38.4% of the dribbles he has attempted in the league. His one-footedness became increasingly infuriating for United fans. When supporters look back at his time at the club they will remember him spinning on the ball pointlessly, cutting inside and blasting potshots over the bar, and missing easy chances – like the one against Southampton last week. For the second most expensive signing in the club’s history, supporters had every right to demand more.
Football supporters routinely argue about which signing has proven the worst value for money. Chelsea fans will bang the drum for Romelu Lukaku. Tottenham’s record signing was Tanguy Ndombele, a player they allowed to leave for free last summer. Nicolas Pépé ultimately proved a sub-par – to put it nicely – signing for Arsenal. However, at least they showed signs that they might live up to their hefty price tag. Antony, though, was a disastrous signing for United. Given his fee, he must be considered the worst in Premier League history. — Guardian
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