Man Utd: £80m flop ‘finding it really tough’ in England – ‘Playing with him would drive me mad’
Former Manchester United striker Andy Cole says playing with £80million Red Devils flop Antony “would drive me absolutely mad”.
Antony joined United from Ajax for a mammoth £80m transfer fee in August 2022.
The Brazilian scored on his debut – a 3-1 home win over Arsenal – but that is as good as it has got for him since moving to Old Trafford.
He is a very one-footed, one-dimensional player who should score and assist a lot more considering he cost the Red Devils so much money.
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Wednesday’s 3-0 Carabao Cup defeat to Newcastle United was another night to forget for Antony and his manager, Erik ten Hag.
The Dutchman is under a severe amount of pressure after crashing out of the competition he won last season.
His style of play, or lack thereof, has come under scrutiny in recent months, as have the signings he has made since joining from Ajax.
Antony is arguably the worst signing Ten Hag has made as United boss and Cole is the latest to criticise the 23-year-old winger.
The United icon says he would not like to play alongside Antony, who is “an individual” and “doesn’t score enough goals” or “create enough chances”.
“He would drive me absolutely mad,’ Cole said on Sky Sports.
“He’s an individual, we all know he’s very left-footed, he’s an individual who never goes to the right-hand side so as a centre-forward, if you’re making a run to the near post you know you’re never going to get it.
“He’s going to check back, you’re not sure when he’s going to put it in the box. He doesn’t score enough goals for me, he doesn’t create enough chances for his teammates.
“So you look at that and say, ‘Okay, what are you giving?’ That’s what you’re expecting from him.
“They’ve spent a hell of a lot of money on him, the manager’s backed him and he’s found it really, really tough.”
Ten Hag defended Antony after the heavy defeat to Newcastle.
“Antony is also a fighter, he has the confidence, he is brave, I am confident he will bring the performance that [shows] he is the right player for us,” Ten Hag said.
A recent report from TEAMtalk claimed Antony benefits from favouritism under Ten Hag and is one of many things that has annoyed out-of-favour winger Jadon Sancho.
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