Manchester United’s 2023/24 campaign can only be described as underwhelming, with the FA Cup being the only title left to be won.
There are plenty of reasons for the lack of progression this season, but fingers are beginning to be pointed towards Erik ten Hag for his approach and style of play.
In truth, injuries have had a huge role to play in preventing the boss from fielding his best starting lineup, but those who have been given a chance, bar a handful, have failed to perform.
With that in mind, there’s one individual who has struggled to get going this season above all, with his statistics and output speaking for themselves.
What Man United actually paid for Antony
Last summer, Antony followed in the footsteps of Ten Hag by joining Man United from Ajax, but it hasn’t exactly been an easy 18 months in England for the Brazilian.
Arriving with an enormous £82m price tag on his head, the task at hand was as simple as it gets: perform extremely well or receive an endless amount of criticism.
The winger's start to life at Old Trafford couldn’t have gone any better, scoring on his debut against Arsenal and netting in his first three Premier League starts.
However, just a few weeks later, Antony received plenty of backlash for his trademark spin in the Europa League, with pundit Robbie Savage calling the 24-year-old “embarrassing.”
As the campaign progressed, Antony’s performances became more inconsistent, to the point where his value has significantly dropped in just over a year. That's not ideal for a man on wages as high as £200k-per-year and over £10m annually.
Antony’s transfer value in 2024
After a tough first campaign, Antony was supposed to truly make the right-wing position in United’s team his own this season, especially after starring in the 3-1 pre-season win against RC Lens with a goal and an assist.
However, that certainly hasn’t been the case, with the number 21 struggling to have any real impact in attack whatsoever, failing to register a goal contribution in 21 Premier League appearances.
In fact, his only two of the campaign both came against League Two opponent Newport County in the FA Cup, and this has led to him losing his place in the side to Alejandro Garnacho.
Antony’s lack of quality and the fact he’s lost his place in the team has caused his estimated worth to plummet by £52m as per Transfermarkt, and the table below shows his value ranks compared to other first-choice right-wingers in England. it's certainly alarming viewing.
Bukayo Saka
£102m
Phil Foden
£94m
Mohammed Salah
£55m
Dejan Kulusevski
£47m
Cole Palmer
£38m
Antony
£30m
Even though he is far less valuable, plenty of the United faithful are calling for Antony to be moved on in the summer, but Ten Hag has still stuck by the attacker, saying:
“He has a big potential. He hasn’t shown it lately, but I know what his talent is. It is about proving his talent. It is about him.”
Man Utd's teenage Saka replica could be the star to replace Antony
The exciting prospect has already made his mark on the first team.
ByTom LeverMar 6, 2024
In truth, Antony’s future as a Man United player is completely up in the air, and that’s the case for lots of players due to the arrival of Sir Jim Ratcliffe. But one thing is certain: the Red Devils massively overpaid for the Brazilian.