Antony got off the mark on his Manchester United career, scoring in his first three consecutive matches for the Red Devils last season. This season, the Brazilian's stats has left much to be desired with United fans and pundits beginning to question his contributions and transfer value.
In 21 appearances for Manchester United this season, Antony is yet to record an assist or a goal for Manchester United. The stat is a stark contrast to his debut tally for the Old Trafford club last season in which he recorded 10 goals and 5 assists. Before joining Manchester United, Antony maintained promising stats with his former club Ajax, scoring 24 goals with 22 assists in 82 appearances. Now, it appears he will be far off such benchmarks with his falling goal contributions for Manchester United.
United legends and pundits such as Gary Neville have blasted Antony for his underwhelming stats for the club given the amount Manchester United expended to bring him to Old Trafford.
Neville particularly tore into Antony insisting he deserved the criticisms for subpar delivery after the club forked out a whooping sum to close his deal with Ajax. According to Neville, the wording of criticisms would have been different if United signed him on a lesser fee.
Erik ten Hag defends Antony's poor stats for Manchester United
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is seemingly indifferent to the barrage of criticisms that has clogged up Antony's table. According to him, Antony's form has been impacted by off-field issues.
"First year he was OK, in the pre-season he was very OK, first four games [of this season] he was very good," added Ten Hag.
"But from the moment he was out and then he came back, he didn't deliver the performance we should expect from him and he can do so much better.
"His end product in Ajax was very high and he could return to that level. The Premier League is more difficult but he's capable of doing that," ten Hag said.
Manchester United signed Antony as the club's second most expensive player for £82m from Ajax. Early this season, Antony's former girlfriend Gabriela Cavallin slammed charges on the player for domestic abuse.
He was suspended from Brazil national team following the allegations. Manchester United decided to delay his return to action with the team pending police investigations. Antony appeared before Brazil and English investigative panels before United recalled him back to action with the team.
As per ten Hag, the domestic abuse allegations must have impacted Antony's form this season for Manchester United.
In 21 appearances for Manchester United this season, Antony is yet to record an assist or a goal for Manchester United. The stat is a stark contrast to his debut tally for the Old Trafford club last season in which he recorded 10 goals and 5 assists. Before joining Manchester United, Antony maintained promising stats with his former club Ajax, scoring 24 goals with 22 assists in 82 appearances. Now, it appears he will be far off such benchmarks with his falling goal contributions for Manchester United.
United legends and pundits such as Gary Neville have blasted Antony for his underwhelming stats for the club given the amount Manchester United expended to bring him to Old Trafford.
Neville particularly tore into Antony insisting he deserved the criticisms for subpar delivery after the club forked out a whooping sum to close his deal with Ajax. According to Neville, the wording of criticisms would have been different if United signed him on a lesser fee.
Erik ten Hag defends Antony's poor stats for Manchester United
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is seemingly indifferent to the barrage of criticisms that has clogged up Antony's table. According to him, Antony's form has been impacted by off-field issues.
"First year he was OK, in the pre-season he was very OK, first four games [of this season] he was very good," added Ten Hag.
"But from the moment he was out and then he came back, he didn't deliver the performance we should expect from him and he can do so much better.
"His end product in Ajax was very high and he could return to that level. The Premier League is more difficult but he's capable of doing that," ten Hag said.
Manchester United signed Antony as the club's second most expensive player for £82m from Ajax. Early this season, Antony's former girlfriend Gabriela Cavallin slammed charges on the player for domestic abuse.
He was suspended from Brazil national team following the allegations. Manchester United decided to delay his return to action with the team pending police investigations. Antony appeared before Brazil and English investigative panels before United recalled him back to action with the team.
As per ten Hag, the domestic abuse allegations must have impacted Antony's form this season for Manchester United.