Erik ten Hag gives clear verdict on Antony performance for Manchester United v Newport County

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Erik ten Hag was full of praise for Antony despite the Brazilian struggling for Manchester United.

Antony scored and assisted his first goal of the season for Manchester United in the 4-2 win over Newport County at Rodney Parade.

Despite the goalscoring contribution of the Brazilian, fans were becoming more and more frustrated with the former Ajax forward as, instead of trying to find Rasmus Hojlund in the penalty box, the 23-year-old took shot after shot but couldn’t find the back of the net.

Luke Shaw’s curling effort struck the post and there he was to finish into an empty net but fans have questioned why Amad Diallo was not given first-team minutes.

Ten Hag on Antony

Speaking to the United website after the win in Wales, Ten Hag was keen to praise the right-winger which may well not go down well with the fanbase.

When asked whether it’s good the team are spreading the goals around, the Dutchman said: “It’s good. I think Antony got the assist for the first goal for Bruno, and a goal.

“So end product is what we demand from him and also the rest of his job. It should have been proper and that was, today, the case. I think it was, for many players today, they did their jobs. They co-operated well and acted as a team, with good spirit.”

Similar to last season, it has been a tough campaign for the Brazilian winger, and is failing to prove to fans why he is good enough for the Red Devils.

Antony’s future

Naturally, this has meant the Red Devils have been linked with options to potentially replace the Brazilian with Crystal Palace forward Michael Olise being the man linked with that role on the right with the Frenchman’s preference said to be United.

Junior Pedroso, Antony’s agent, has insisted that the winger’s heart is set in Manchester but questions surely have to be asked about the future of the Brazilian.

Since his £86 million move to Old Trafford, barring his run last season of three goals in three games, he has not performed and has failed to justify his price tag.

If Olise is to be the new winger, Antony will surely be concerned about what the future holds for him.