Antony is a player who has split opinion within the Manchester United fanbase.
After the club spent £86m in 2022 to bring him to the club, his performances on the pitch have left a lot to be desired.
Sure, he’s had moments of inspiration during his time at Old Trafford.
Despite spending two years at the club, it’s fair to say that Antony hasn’t built upon the potential he showed at Ajax.
This is despite manager Erik ten Hag giving him plenty of opportunity to showcase what he can do.
Due to that, the end of the season saw Antony dropped from the first team as he lost his place to Amad Diallo.
In fact, Antony didn’t even come off the bench in the last three games that United played in the last campaign.
With the club having the likes of Diallo, new signing Joshua Zirkzee, a returning Jadon Sancho and the likes of Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford – there is a lot of competition in the squad for the position that Antony plays in.
This has led to inevitable speculation on what the future is for Antony.
Will United cut their losses and look to move the player on? Or will the club give him another season to show what he can do?
ESPN discuss Antony future
Writing for ESPN, journalist Mark Ogden has given some insight on Antony’s future.
Ogden claims that United will let Antony leave on loan if a club is willing to cover his £70,000 weekly wages.
This seems to indicate that the club see value in the player still, but likely don’t see him getting much game time this season.
Sending Antony on loan will potentially be a way for him to prove that he deserves another crack at Old Trafford. Alternatively, he can rebuild his reputation and help the club get a better return if they sell him the following summer.
It seems a sensible strategy from the club.
If they tried to sell Antony today, they’d struggle to get even 25% of what they paid for him.
Antony is still a talented player as he showed at Ajax and at times in Manchester. A Brazil international, he could go on to become a success in the game.
There is potential value in a European club taking the attacker on loan for the season and contribute to their success. The entire thought process seems sensible and displays again that INEOS are making much better footballing decisions at the club already.
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