Antony Dos Santos: There’s A Player In There
Antony Dos Santos was a player who came to Manchester United with a lot of hype behind him, but unfortunately for the Brazilian, he was effectively doomed to fail before he even stepped foot on the iconic turf at Old Trafford. Antony was someone United had admired for a while, even being on the list at the club prior to Erik ten Hag walking in the door. He was rated across Europe due to his impressive performances for Ajax and had developed an exciting reputation in the Brazilian national team, putting in some promising showings during the opportunities he was afforded in the early stages of his career.
United wanted Antony that summer as one of the priority signings to help Erik ten Hag move the team forward. The Dutch manager felt the winger could add some much-needed quality to the right-hand side of the squad, and with the departure of Mason Greenwood imminent, it was an area the club knew they needed to make a signing in if they were to have any success for the campaign.
United Valued Antony At £25million
The issue with how United signed Antony came with their reluctance to pull the trigger on the deal earlier in the window. The recruitment team at United, prior to INEOS coming in, came under huge criticism for their inability to act at the right times and also get deals over the line. United were quoted a lower fee for the player in June of the 2022 transfer window but decided against pulling the trigger on the deal at that stage, instead focusing on signing Lisandro Martinez from the same club.
Ajax sold a number of key players that summer, including Martinez to United and Ryan Gravenberch to Bayern Munich, which meant by the time the Red’s came back to the negotiation table in August after that 4-0 defeat to Brentford, the Dutch side were in no position to sell. That’s where the £85 million price tag came into play, and it’s something that Antony can feel aggrieved by in regards to how his time at the club has gone.
This was an issue the Glazer’s have had leveled at time for a long time, and it relates to their lack of planning, which ultimately led to panic buys. Antony was not a panic buy in regards to his overall signing, but the price was a direct cause of the panic after the Brentford defeat, with the former officials in charge of the football leadership of the club scrambling to get deals done to try and curb the chances of disaster in the coming season.
Players never ask for price tags, and they’re unfortunately a symptom of the modern game, which has gone out of control. Price tags create expectations, and expectations are fine, but these price tags create unrealistic heights, which these players can never and should never have to reach. Antony is a solid player, especially in a functional system with a strong overlapping full-back, but he is not and should not ever have been valued at £85 million. United’s decision to pay that fee and not sign him earlier has created a public perception that the player can never satisfy, and the public’s criticism of the player has dropped his confidence to a level that has led to the performances we’re seeing over the last year.
Within this time period, the player also had a well-documented public domestic abuse case, which can’t have been an easy situation to navigate in the public eye for any of the people involved. The case has been dropped in Brazil but remains under investigation in Manchester by the GMP. The Brazilian maintains he has not done anything wrong in the situation.
Antony’s Qualities:
Antony is a very good squad player who can absolutely have a say within this current United side with the abilities he does possess. His pressing is amongst the best in the division, and his ability to retain possession in the final third is also an impressive trait he does have, which would probably see him better suited to a Pep Guardiola side than the current iteration of Erik ten Hag’s tactics at the club.
Within the system at Ajax, it was fluid, and he was a key cog to how it flourished. Mazraoui was a huge part of his game due to his ability to drag away defenders and create avenues for Antony to operate it, often cutting onto that talented left foot and scoring a goal from range, which is a trick he’s tried to emulate on numerous occasions since his arrival in Manchester.
The player thrives with runners around him, underlapping and overlapping scenarios especially. One of the best areas he operates in on the pitch is the central half space, but for one reason or another, he hasn’t been able to get into those positions on any where near enough of a regular basis over the last year. This could be down to the sides struggles last season, with the routines and regular movements being affected due to the ever-changing nature of Erik ten Hag’s starting line-ups.
In regards to the key traits where Antony has continued to excel, he won possession in the final third more times than any other United player last season per 90 minutes at a rate of 1.7. He also completed more dribbles than anyone else in the squad other than Marcus Rashford last season too, which may come as a surprise considering a common criticism thrown at him is that he cannot beat players easily.
Antony’s xA per 90 was also the third highest in the squad behind Christian Eriksen and Bruno Fernandes, and he also had the fifth highest xG+ xA per 90 too.
Can United Unlock Him?
As previously mentioned, there are signs. There is a player there, but the most important thing now is how United unlock that player. How do they get the best out of him? And is this the season he finally silences his critics?
There have been some allegations of attitude issues with the player, and if they are true, he needs to put aside his feelings about not being in the squad and work hard at pushing so that it’s impossible to leave him out. Amad Diallo is proving his class, but United need depth, and the 23-year-old can still play a huge role this season if he starts to believe in himself again and begins to show the world what he can really do.
He has done it on the biggest stage before. In the 21/22 season, Antony was one of the leading assisters in the Champions League and scored in some high-profile games, with his goal against Borussia Dortmund being one that sticks in the memory. He has shown his class in some big games for United too. Within his time at the club, he has scored against Manchester City, Barcelona, Arsenal, and Liverpool, with the goals against Barcelona and Liverpool being particularly special and important.
Erik ten Hag maintains he needs to show his level, but confidence is key to getting him there. Fans underestimate the effect belief has on footballers, and if Antony can go on a run of scoring goals after his penalty against Barnsley, he can be a key asset to the team at stages during this season.
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