West Ham’s new £35 million signing Edson Alvarez has labelled Manchester United winger and former Ajax team-mate as the best player he has ever shared a dressing room with.
Last week, Mexican midfield colossus Alvarez became the latest in a long line of Ajax imports to touch down in the Premier League. He joins West Ham in a deal worth £35 million, one year after Antony swapped the Johan Cruyff Arena for Old Trafford.
Alvarez lined up alongside the likes of Dusan Tadic, Ryan Gravenberch, Jurrien Timber, Sebastian Haller and Mohammed Kudus in the Eredivisie. Manchester United trio Lisandro Martinez, Donny Van de Beek and Andre Onana too.
Antony, however, stands out head and shoulders above the rest, as far as Alvarez is concerned.
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“I got to play with a lot of good players,” David Moyes’ new number 19 tells the West Ham website. “But I still think (the best was) Antony.”
United’s ball-juggling Brazilian tore Dutch football to shreds during his time at Ajax. And while he is yet to produce similarly devastating displays at Manchester United on a regular basis, it is no coincidence that the Red Devils‘ best, most complete performances often come with Antony treading the touchline on the right-hand side for Erik ten Hag.
‘If you want to be top class…’
“He knows, I know as well, when you are a forward, you need end product. But already he had quite a lot of end product,” Ten Hag told the Manchester Evening Post after the 23-year-old orchestrated April’s 2-0 win at Nottingham Forest with a goal and an assist.
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“He scored in all competitions now, eight goals. (For his) first year at United, (that) is not bad. But he has to do it, I can’t say in every game, but in many games if you want to be a top-class player. And especially in all of the competitions.
“In the Premier League, there are a lot of quality defenders. And you have to act on a really high level.”
Antony was one of United’s brighter performances – though that isn’t saying much – during Monday’s underwhelming 1-0 win over Wolves.