Antony told to "step up" by Man Utd icon after 'ignoring' Erik ten Hag twice
Jaap Stam has challenged Antony to kick on next season in the wake of criticism levelled at the Manchester United winger following his maiden season in the Premier League.
Expectations were high at Old Trafford after Antony was finally signed following months of speculation in a deal which could eventually eclipse £86million. However, the Brazilian winger failed to live up to the hype and was heavily criticised by fans and pundits alike during the 2022/23 campaign.
Stam, who was a popular figure at United following a three-year stint at the club, believes some of the criticism that has been labelled at Antony is harsh. The Dutchman does, though, want to see more from the 23-year-old this term.
“You know Antony’s got quality, of course, on the ball,” Stam told Manchester United's official website. “He’s got decent pace, even if he’s not lightning. He needs to become, and I know we were talking about being predictable in a way of playing, then he needs to step up a gear to make a change.
“As a winger, you always need to be very decisive. You need to take initiative on the ball. You need to go forward. You need to take on your one-v-ones and you need to make it difficult for your opposition by, one time, going inside and, the other time, going outside.
Marcel Sabitzer completes Man Utd transfer after last-minute deadline day dash
“Of course, that’s the thing that I think he still needs to do a little bit more. But we know him from Holland as well. We know his ability and his quality. And I think he can step up, you know, one or two gears. So he needs to show that this season. He had last season as well to get adjusted to the league and to get adjusted to the opposition he’s facing as well.”
Join the debate! What did you make of Antony's first season at Man Utd ? Let us know here.
Former Manchester United defender Jaap Stam has backed Antony to silence his critics next season (OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)Antony managed to register 12 goal contributions (eight goals, four assists) during his first season in United colours and started the season brightly with three goals in as many games. But unfortunately for the winger, a handful of positive performances were outweighed by several underwhelming ones.
The Sun claimed back in October that Antony 'ignored' instructions given by Erik ten Hag in United's heavy 6-3 defeat against Manchester City. And Glenn Hoddle had a similar theory following United's humiliating 7-0 loss against Liverpool back in March.
Speaking to Premier League Productions, Hoddle scrutinised Antony's positioning and said: "You've got to stay at least with the ball when you're on the opposite side, particularly against these two full-backs [ Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson ]. His reaction should be to get level with the ball and also goal-side of Robertson.
"If the manager has told him to sit out, it's not cheating, is it? If the manager has said, 'sit out', well then it's not worked for them. But if the manager is saying, 'no, you've got to track back', which he says after in his post-match interview that they didn't work hard enough, then maybe he was asked to track back. He [Antony] was out of position all day long."
Mirror Football is now on Threads! You can follow us here
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
