In Focus: Antony has a lot to prove despite lightning start

Antony made a flying start to his Manchester United career — but he has struggled to have the same impact recently.

The 22-year-old Brazilian joined for a whopping £86million from Ajax last summer and scored in his first three Premier League games for the Red Devils.

But he has failed to register a goal or assist since then despite the fourth-placed outfit’s good form under Erik ten Hag — with calls for the winger to be dropped for the clash against Bournemouth intensifying.

Ahead of that game at Old Trafford tonight, we turn the spotlight on their marquee summer signing.

Start of dreams

Antony’s long-awaited arrival at United was one of the transfer sagas of the summer, with questions raised over his hefty price tag when the deal did eventually get done.

But those doubters were seemingly forced to eat their words after his terrific start to Premier League life.

The Sao Paulo native tucked a neat finish in just 38 minutes into his top-flight debut against leaders Arsenal before netting a sensational strike from distance in the Manchester derby — albeit in a 6-3 defeat.

He was on the scoresheet again in the next game, stroking home with his left in a 2-1 victory over Everton.

With all the flamboyance and confidence in the world, the summer recruit was hailed as a breath of fresh air that could spark United’s previously stuttering attack into life. 

Slow settler

His big fee and fast start raised expectations, with Antony clearly needing time to adapt to the English top flight after spending his career in his native country and the Netherlands up to this point.

The winger is without a goal or assist since that September clash at Goodison Park, while his lack of defensive work has been questioned in recent weeks.

Former Premier League defender Stuart Pearce did not hold back in his criticism of that aspect of his game during United’s narrow 1-0 win over Wolves on New Year’s Eve.

The 60-year-old said during commentary for talkSPORT: "Antony has got no intention of tracking back, Wolves can get a lot of joy down that side. 

"Antony has failed to make an impact — he’s given away the ball on far too many occasions.

"He irritates the life out of me. Every time he gets the ball he points to his teammates and tells them what they should do."

The stats

A closer look at Antony’s statistics since arriving in England suggest Pearce may have a point with regards to his defensive output.

His emphasis on attack is clear to see, with no player in his position getting more shots away per 90 minutes than his 3.76.

He is also a proven tricky customer when he is on the ball, with Ryan Fraser the only winger in the English top flight to have been dispossessed less (0.56 times per 90 minutes).

But he ranks only 21st among wingers for possessions won per 90 minutes (1.67), while only five players have lost out in challenges more often than the Brazilian.

A healthy environment

All this points to an issue of mentality rather than ability and is hopefully something Ten Hag can iron out as his tenure progresses.

For all the good feeling around the club, Ten Hag has shown a no-nonsense approach to those who step slightly out of line, as the recent cases of Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho illustrate.

And he has already publicly discussed the similar standards he expects his marquee summer signing to maintain.

Immediately after his impressive display against the Toffees, the Red Devils boss said: "We have to expect more from him.

"He needs challenges, that's why he came to the Premier League. He gets it here, he wants to play with the best players, the highest stress factors against the best players and from there on he will step up.

"In the first game he was not always that good defending-wise but he was really good, really disciplined, he had good positioning, good anticipation, so he had quite an impact on this team's performance.

"He is a young player we have to develop but he has to develop himself."

As the case of Rashford proves, Old Trafford now appears to be a place where players can thrive again — which is not something that could be said even eight months ago.

There is no reason why Antony cannot match the levels of his in-form team-mate and begin to thrive again under Ten Hag.