Erik ten Hag opens up on Antony after Rio Ferdinand criticism

Antony was recently slammed by ex-Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand for his “concerning”  inability to beat players after the Arsenal loss.

Antony was signed by Manchester United for a fee of £85 million towards the end of the 2022 summer window, having been a priority target for Erik ten Hag since he joined the club.

Recently, after United’s 3-2 loss away against Premier League leaders Arsenal, Rio Ferdinand voiced his concerns at the winger’s seeming reluctance to take defenders on and beat them in one-on-one battles.

“The concerning thing for me with somebody like Antony is that he can’t beat anyone – and for a Brazilian that’s surprising!” he recently said on his FIVE YouTube video. “He just doesn’t beat anyone and I’m sitting there thinking, ‘Was that always the way?’

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“I’ve seen clips of him when he was at Ajax and he was somebody who used to beat people. I saw [Thomas] Partey – who I wouldn’t put down as like a roaster, a sprinter – absolutely burst past him, and I’m thinking, ‘Woah, he [Antony] hasn’t got much power in them legs!’ So, yeah, he’s a tricky winger, but tricky wingers – you want them to still be able to beat the defender.”

Speaking in his recent press conference ahead of United’s Carabao Cup semi-final clash, Ten Hag pointed out that almost every time Antony plays a full fixture, United come out on top.

“When he’s playing (full games), the team is winning,” Ten Hag explained. “That already gives a message of how well he is performing.”

However, despite this, Ten Hag does recognise the point that Ferdinand is making, echoing that Antony can do better by becoming more direct and more involved in games.

“He can do better, I see space for improvement. For instance, and I think also you know this, we want him to be more direct and be more involved. But as I said, the team is performing better if he is on the pitch. That’s a good thing, that’s a good base to build further.

“I think he has already made an improvement. In his first three games, he scored three goals. Now he was scoring against Everton, he was scoring against Charlton, so also that fact, he has an impact. But I think with his capabilities, with his talents, he can do even more. But as I said, I think he has [made] a good contribution in the team.”

One suggestion that has been made is that despite his fast start to life at Manchester United, that he is struggling to adapt. It was posed to Ten Hag in the press conference that Antony’s team mates could be becoming frustrated with him, citing an example of an alleged “exchange” with Bruno Fernandes during United’s 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace.

Ten Hag has dismissed this notion, saying: “I think that (heated exchanges in the moment) can happen. They are both players who play with the heart and when they bring that in the game, they are on their best so it’s always a kind of balance.

“And always between players, sometimes emotions flare up but I think in the second moment they are already good with each other so that is not a problem. I think definitely the players are not frustrated with him.”

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It is clear that Erik ten Hag has a lot of faith in Antony and his future; after all, it was he who pushed hard for United to sign the Brazilian winger after Ten Hag worked with him for two years at Ajax before joining United.

Considering Ten Hag’s track record of identifying and getting the best out of talented players, it is easy to conclude that there is a long road to go before fans should start becoming concerned with Antony’s performances.