“Unfair…” – Premier League icon defends Antony and compares to two Chelsea players

Former Chelsea and Liverpool defender Glen Johnson has stated that he believes the criticisms levelled at Manchester United winger Antony has gone too far.

Johnson, who was part of Chelsea’s 2004/05 Premier League winning side, stated that the amount of criticism Antony receives has taken attention off other big-money purchases across the league.

Speaking to Betfred, Johnson highlighted Chelsea midfielders Enzo Fernandez & Moisés Caicedo, as two players who despite not living up to their transfer fees so far, have escaped large-scale criticism due to the focus on United’s Antony.

“When you look at it in terms of why Antony is getting so much stick and not them [Enzo Fernandez & Moisés Caicedo], it does seem unfair,” Johnson stated.

“But none of us want to see these players get the stick in the first place. At the end of the day, all of them want to perform at their best, but sometimes in life, that’s not how it is.”

“You don’t want to see any of them getting grief, but Antony certainly gets an awful lot of backlash and has, in a way, taken the spotlight away from the likes of Moisés and Enzo.”

“However, I don’t believe any of them deserve that kind of criticism anyway. They’re only criticised because of the price tag, but they haven’t hit the heights. 

There is certainly a case to be made that Johnson is correct in his analysis of the situation regarding the amount of media attention on Manchester United’s Brazillian winger.

However, many football fans would argue that Antony’s criticism has at large been justified with the winger failing to display any of the qualities that led to United paying over £80 million for the forward.

Signing for the club 16 months ago, the forward has failed to score a goal in the last 9. Additionally, United are believed to have identified the right-wing as a position they desperately need reinforcements in.

In recent weeks, both Nico Williams and Crystal Palace’s Michael Olise have been highlighted as potential new recruits.