24 November 2023 , 10:17
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Andy Cole has compared Manchester United's transfer recruitment to shopping at "Primark and Zara" after hammering the club's decision to sign Antony.
The Brazilian, who joined the Red Devils from Ajax for £86million in the summer of 2022, scored eight goals in 44 appearances across all competitions for United last season. But Antony has failed to find the net in 12 matches so far this term and has not been able to get back to the level he showed in the Eredivisie.
Antony is United's second most-expensive transfer behind Paul Pogba and the 23-year-old has been linked with a surprise move away from the club in January. Earlier this month, Cole claimed that Antony would have driven him "absolutely mad" if they had played together.
Now, Cole has slammed United's decision to sign Antony, while praising Brighton's clever decision to recruit Kaoru Mitoma and questioned why his old club couldn't have pulled off a similar coup. "I sometimes have to ask myself what Antony's strengths are? He doesn't take players on, he doesn't create chances and he doesn't score goals. So what are his strengths?" Cole told Betfred.
"We paid a massive amount of money for him. When you look at a club like Brighton who signed Mitoma for £2.7million, then you have to ask what market are Manchester United shopping in when Brighton pays that for Mitoma and we end up paying £86million for Antony?
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"Are we not shopping in the same market? It's like Primark and Zara; you think by paying more to shop at Zara, the quality will be better, but it turns out to be the same as Primark, so you end up paying more for the same thing.
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Antony has failed to score for Manchester United this season (Getty Images)"I look at the transfers we've made over the last 10 years and we've spent a hell of a lot of money on players that other clubs would have paid less for, so is it a case of Manchester United tax? We can't continue doing that."
Cole, who scored 121 goals in 275 games for the Red Devils, hammered Antony before United's Carabao Cup defeat against Newcastle on November 1. He outlined why he believes Antony has found it "tough" to get going in Manchester, with the winger without a Premier League goal since April.
"He would drive me absolutely mad," Cole told Sky Sports. "He's an individual, we all know he's very left-footed, he's an individual who never goes to the right-hand side so as a centre-forward, if you're making a run to the near post you know you’re never going to get it.
"He's going to check back, you're not sure when he's going to put it in the box. He doesn't score enough goals for me, he doesn't create enough chances for his team-mates.
"So you look at that and say, 'Okay, what are you giving?' That's what you're expecting from him. They've spent a hell of a lot of money on him, the manager's backed him and he's found it really, really tough."
Antony and United are back in action when they travel to Everton in the Premier League on Sunday. The Red Devils found a little bit of form before the international break, having won four of their last five top-flight matches.