Manchester United valued Antony at just £25 million under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer before paying £60 million more for the Brazil international after Erik ten Hag took charge.
And this, perhaps more than anything else, is proof of why Manchester United need a proper, coherent sporting structure in place.
A sporting director who knows when to walk away, and how to avoid making United look like pushovers in the market. The Red Devils have long been viewed as a club with a penchant for panicking and paying over the odds, and you need look no further than the Antony saga to realise how such a reputation has come about.
Manchester United paid £86m for Antony
According to The Athletic, United scouted Antony during the Ole Gunnar Solskjaer era and valued the winger at around £25 million. Such a valuation is probably a fair reflection of how Antony has performed during much of his time at Old Trafford too, a tally of zero goals and zero assists making a mockery of the £86 million fee United would eventually pay in the summer of 2022.
The Athletic add that United, during discussions with Ajax, made it clear that the bidding would stop at £60 million. But, as desperation set in and time ran out, United slapped a further £26 million down on the table as Ajax giggled all the way to the bank.
“Antony… in what I’ve seen from him, and how he is, he’s not good enough for this level that we’re looking for at United,” Old Trafford icon Jaap Stam tells The Overlap.
“When you’re looking at Antony now, at this moment… yeah, you don’t really see where he can make the progress to make that next step into the Premier League or to be up there with the top wingers.
“In Holland, he did okay. It wasn’t like he was the best player in Holland. He did okay for Ajax. But, then again, they’re playing in a league of a couple of good players and the rest of teams are, with all respect, mediocre players, so they are always dominating and he can always do his trickery and put his crosses in and make a one-two or whatever.
“I was (surprised at how much United paid), yeah.”
United now eyeing Takefusa Kubo
According to The Sun, Man United are now considering a move for Real Sociedad star Takefusa Kubo in a blow to Antony’s future prospects.
Another left-footed right winger, the Japan international has ten goal contributions in 2023/24 compared to Antony’s zero.
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