Sam McGuire assesses the dwindling creative and goalscoring numbers for Antony, who is now getting judged in the same way as other big-money signings.
Levi Colwill, Joao Felix, Seamus Coleman and Naby Keita are just a handful of names to have a higher Expected Assists tally than Antony this season in the Premier League.
That list is made up of a centre-back, a player with 61 minutes to his name, a full-back and someone who only made his first start of the season last weekend.
The Brazil international was a top target for new Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag during the summer and he eventually got his man, late in August, when the Red Devils agreed to pay an initial £82million to pry him away from Ajax.
He scored on his debut, a 3-1 win over Arsenal, and netted in the Manchester derby a couple of weeks later in what was an impressive start to life in the Premier League. Since then, he’s tailed off with his last goal in the English top flight arriving in early October.
Antony is a best price 7/2 to score anytime against Nottingham Forest tonight. You can read George Gamble’s preview and match prediction here.
Goals aren’t the be-all and end-all for Antony and they never really have been. During his time at Ajax, he was a dual threat. He was a goal threat and a creator. The 15-cap international just found ways to impact the game in the final third. His Expected Assists average for the Amsterdam-based club was 0.32 per 90.
The one-time Sao Paulo youngster has struggled to influence Premier League matches. Of course, he is still adapting to the rigours of the English top-flight but this is an £80million player. The likes of Paul Pogba, Harry Maguire and Romelu Lukaku were scrutinised from the off having moved to Old Trafford for big money.
Darwin Nunez, a player with more goals and assists than Antony in a dysfunctional team, is being singled out for criticism on an almost weekly basis while pundits are analysing his impact on the Liverpool team. Richarlison, another player who moved for significantly less than the Manchester United No. 21, is being ridiculed for his lack of goals for Spurs.
You can find the best prices for each of those teams recording a top 4 finish below.
| Team | Best Price | Worst Price |
|---|---|---|
| Man United | 3/10 | 1/5 |
| Newcastle | 3/4 | 4/6 |
| Liverpool | 5/2 | 15/8 |
| Spurs | 3/1 | 2/1 |
Until recently, Antony had avoided that sort of negativity that follows his Liverpool and Spurs counterparts. However, following the loss to Arsenal, Rio Ferdinand questioned the 22-year-old.
Speaking on his FIVE show, Ferdinand said: “He just doesn't beat anyone and I'm sitting there thinking, "Was that always the way?''. I've seen clips of him when he was at Ajax and he was somebody who used to beat people.
“I saw Thomas Partey, who I wouldn't put down as a sprinter, absolutely burst past him, and I'm thinking, "Woah, he (Antony) hasn't got much power in them legs! He's a tricky winger, but with tricky wingers you want them to still be able to beat the defender.”
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Ferdinand makes a good point. Antony is no longer beating players. During his time at Ajax, he completed close to 60% of his dribbles. Since the switch to United, that figure has dropped to 36%.
So, no goals, no assists, no creativity and no progressing the ball. If United weren’t performing as well as they had been, Antony would’ve been targeted a lot more by the media, and rightly so too.
Man United are the 10/11 favourites to win the 2022/23 Carabao Cup.
Sooner or later, he is going to have to start to repay some of that transfer fee. Ten Hag knows it as well, saying as much after the loss to Arsenal:
“He can do better, I see space for improvement. For instance, and I think also you know this, we want him to be more direct and be more involved. But, the team is performing better if he is on the pitch. That's a good thing, that's a good base to build further. I think he has already made an improvement.”
Antony was a long-term signing so patience was always going to be required but there needs to be positive signs in the short term. So far, there isn’t and he’s had a free ride in the media. What happens when their attentions turn to him and move away from Nunez and Richarlison?
