One of the most iconic clubs, Manchester United, is looking for another major shake-up within its squad. The Brazilian Antony, in just his second season, might be leaving. He’s one of the major players whose salary is needed to be trimmed from the wage bill of Manchester United.
Antony was Erik ten Hag’s huge investment in Manchester United. The club had to pay £86 million for Antony. Antony was the second-highest transfer fee for Manchester United, only behind Paul Pogba in 2016. He kicked off his career at the club with goals in his first three Premier League games.
However, after that, his performance took a nose dive. He scored only once more in the top flight for the rest of that season.
That had made people question his skills. His performance in this season has further proven this true, scoring just three goals in all competitions. According to Alex Crook of talkSPORT, Antony, who he described as ‘hopeless’, was ‘very lucky’ to be there as he could not do justice to the wing position.
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Manchester United is eyeing offloading its wage bill to raise money to fund a rebuild under Sir Jim Ratcliffe. Raphael Varane and Anthony Martial have been confirmed to leave the club. Other players with big contracts may also leave Old Trafford if a bid comes in for them.
Antony, Casemiro and Christian Eriksen head the list of players who will be made available for transfer. This is quite the setback for Manchester United. Not only will they not recover the fee paid for the winger, but it raises questions about recruitment and coaching. Antony has more yellow cards than combined goals and assists in 1,909 minutes of football.
It is understood that, previously, Manchester United were not keen on letting Antony go, especially with the emergence of Alejandro Garnacho and Amad Diallo on the right wing. But they are now open to any offers if it can recover some of the money spent on acquiring him and get rid of his estimated £200,000-per-week wage.
Garnacho had a wonderful season with Manchester United and he is currently one of the first names in the lineups. Diallo, on the other side, is also patiently waiting for his golden chance and looks quite promising every time given a chance.
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With both stars being 21 and under, they have a real opportunity to develop massively with each other and give United two stars for years to come.
Antony and Jadon Sancho could find themselves surplus to requirements and sold in the summer months. Marcus Rashford ideally needs competition on the left-hand side of the field.
While Garnacho has filled in there on an irregular basis, a new signing to challenge Rashford with the potential sales of Sancho and Antony could be the best way to move forward for the Red Devils. The club is also said to be open to the idea of Rashford leaving if they receive a large enough fee for his signature from any interested clubs.
