With the January transfer window only a few weeks away, every start Antony makes for Manchester United these days could conceivably be the last one.
Of course, shifting a £82 million millstone from around Manchester United’s neck – one rumoured to take home £200,000-a-week in wages – will likely be far easier said than done.
Yet, as long as Antony is available for transfer at Old Trafford – and that he most seems to be – it appears that the Brazil international’s shelf life as a United player is quickly running out.
The Daily Mail report that Man United are willing to accept £40 million, less than half the fee they paid Ajax back in 2022. Though, in truth, it would be still represent a bonafide piece of financial wizardry from Jason Wilcox and co if United can extract £40 million from any club for a winger with about as much pace as Jadon Sancho but only a fraction of the unpredictability.
Ruben Amorim explains Antony role in Manchester United win
Antony made his first start under Ruben Amorim as a Rasmus Hojlund-inspired Manchester United defeated Bodo/Glimt in a topsy-turvy Europa League encounter on Thursday night.
The Brazil international lined up on the right-hand side of Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 formation. But, just days after Amad Diallo brilliantly assisted Marcus Rashford’s opener from the same position at Ipswich Town, there would be no such inspiration from Antony in yet another forgettable, ineffective display.
Though, from a tactical point of view, Amorim does appear to have taken some positives from Antony’s first United start since the 7-0 thumping of Barnsley two months ago.
Amorim’s system means the wing-backs are expected to hold the width, stay on the touchline, and open up spaces infield for the likes of Mason Mount, Bruno Fernandes and Alejandro Garnacho to wreak havoc.
In that sense, Antony – at least from a positional sense – did his duties.
“Today, [substitute] Amad and Antony, they acted like a winger, and they stay open. What I want is a good one against one, to open the field, to play, to close the field when we lose the ball,” Amorim explains.
“And it is the same in every team. I think the structure is more fluid than you guys think with the three defenders.”
Amorim’s Man United showcase flexibility against Bodo/Glimt
While providing a glimpse into the sort of tactical flexibility that helped bring two Primeira Liga titles to Sporting in the space of three years, Amorim’s Man United tended to build-up play in a 3-4-2-1 but shifted to a back-four out of possession.
In those circumstances, Antony – and latterly Amad – would operate as traditional right-sided wingers with Noussair Mazraoui acting as a full-back rather than a right-sided centre-back.
“Today, we finished today without any centre-backs. So it was Casemiro, Mazraoui and Luke Shaw [by the end of the game]. I think it is more the characteristics of the players and not the real positions of the players,” Amorim adds.
“Today, if I ask you guys what system I use, you saw more 4-4-2 [when we were] defending, I think? You agree? Then we put two wide players like the other 20 teams in the league. You have to change the characteristics.”
Playing only 27 minutes of Premier League football all season – opportunities should be even harder to come by as Amorim is such a big fan of Amad Diallo – December’s Europa League clash with Viktoria Plzen may well be Antony’s final outing of 2025.
But could it be his final outing for Manchester United too?
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