Aheed Abrar
Chelsea scout Piet de Visser wanted to sign Antony from Ajax before move to Manchester United
Manchester United forward Antony had been eyed by Chelsea scout Piet de Visser before the Brazilian moved to Old Trafford from Ajax. The Blues scout had planned to bring the 22-year-old to Stamford Bridge a long time back.
Antony made his way to United during the recent summer transfer window in a deal worth £86 million, including add-ons. The Brazilian enjoyed a fruitful spell under Erik ten Hag with the Eredivisie champions.
However, De Visser was thinking about bringing Antony to Chelsea during his time in Brazil’s youth ranks. Speaking to Voetbal Primeur (h/t Metro), the Blues scout revealed he, alongside Ajax head scout Hans van der Zee, felt the 22-year-old needed to experience European football before stepping up.
“Together with Hans van der Zee we saw him for the first time at Brazil’s youth ranks and we were both charmed by him.
“I thought he had to make an intermediate step and then Hans suggested Ajax. And then we would take him right from Ajax.
“We couldn’t get him, I would have wanted him.”
For the Amsterdam-based club, Antony featured in 82 games in all competitions, scoring 24 goals and providing 22 assists. The Brazilian’s skills and trickery make him a headache for opposition defenders.
Antony reunited with Ten Hag in Manchester. And the 22-year-old got his United career off to a perfect start. The Brazilian made his debut against Arsenal and scored the opening goal in the 35th minute.
The Red Devils went on to beat the Gunners 3-1 at Old Trafford. We were the first team to beat Arsenal in the 2022/23 campaign. The North London side had won the first games of the season in the Premier League before their visit to Manchester.
We continued our own victorious run in the league by defeating Arsenal. Ten Hag’s first two competitive games ended in losses to Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford.
However, since then, United have won four games on the trot in the PL. The only loss came against Real Sociedad in the Europa League. Antony started against La Real as well.
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While the Brazilian is not the finished article yet, Antony has the talent to develop into one of the best in the world. Hopefully, under Ten Hag, the 22-year-old is able to fulfil his potential.
