Erik ten Hag left red-faced over Man United transfer as Old Trafford icon's advice ignored

Since Erik ten Hag took the reins at Manchester United in 2022, he's been on a spending spree, with £600 million shelled out on 15 permanent signings. Antony stands as the priciest among these acquisitions and the club's second most expensive buy ever.

The Red Devils forked out approximately £85 million to bring the Brazilian winger over from Ten Hag's previous team, Ajax, but his impact has been less than stellar.

Antony's record so far is modest, with just five goals and three assists across 56 Premier League matches, and notably, three of those contributions came within his first trio of league games. Edwin van der Sar, the United icon who served as Ajax's CEO when Antony was signed, had previously cautioned that the club had paid over the odds for him.

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While Van der Sar acknowledged Antony's "potential world star" status, he felt another year at Ajax would have been beneficial for his growth. Nonetheless, the offer from United was too substantial to turn down.

Post-transfer, speaking with The Athletic, Van der Sar remarked: "We would have liked to keep him here one year longer - there was not a dire need to sell him, we had money in the bank - but the fee got so high. We challenged United to go as far as possible.", reports the Mirror.

Despite this, Antony's time at Old Trafford hasn't yet lived up to expectations, with his sole start this season occurring in last month's 7-0 Carabao Cup triumph against League One outfit Barnsley. Currently, he finds himself behind Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho, and Amad Diallo in the squad hierarchy.

Erik ten Hag has been vocal about Antony's situation at Manchester United, stressing the competitiveness required within the squad. Speaking about the Brazilian's battle for more playtime, Ten Hag said: "He is fighting, fighting for his position," adding, "That's what we expect from every player in the squad at Manchester United, what they should do."

He also commented on Antony's impatience and determination, saying, "Of course he's impatient. He wants to play and he's fighting to play. That is professional football, that is top football. Those are the laws. You pick the team that you think has the most chance to win a game."

Ten Hag emphasised the mechanism of selection based on training performance and team synergy: "The players have to fight for their positions. You pick the XI who have the best dynamic, the best chemistry. So he has to earn the right in training but the others are doing really well. He has to get over them."

Lastly, showing belief in Antony's capabilities, he said, "Now he has to bounce back and he has the abilities to do it. If he is doing the right thing, he can make competition with them."