Gary Neville urges Manchester United to persist with soon-to-be hell of a player Antony
Football pundit Gary Neville has urged Manchester United to persist with Antony as he believes the Brazilian will become a “hell of a player”.
After not scoring a goal in the league since October, Antony came with the opening goal against Nottingham Forest. He set up the second as United cruised past their latest opponents at the City Ground, Nottingham.
The Brazil international has scored key goals in other competitions in the meantime by the way, including the tie-clincher against Barcelona in the Europa League playoff tie.
Here’s what Neville when asked about the winger and his prospects as a player (h/t Sky Sports):
“He has looked frustrating at times but with someone like him, you just need to persist with him.
“Obviously they have paid a lot of money, so they will. If he can gain consistency to his game and his decision-making in the final third can become a little bit more refined, he becomes a hell of a player.
“In the first half he was frustrating, but in the second half he scored a goal, he assisted, he had a couple of shots just past the post. He is dangerous and he always wants the ball.”
Neville is right about what he said, except that Antony’s opening goal of the game came in the first half when a parried shot from Anthony Martial fell perfectly in his path to tap in from close range.
Eight goals and two assists in 35 appearances in all competitions are not great numbers from a player that cost close to £86m.
But, the Brazilian is still a young player (23) with plenty of time to pay back the money United invested in him.
The fact that he was signed after the season had begun means that he did not have a pre-season with this squad under Erik ten Hag. Once that happens after this season, he may get sharper with his game and start putting up better numbers along with those tricks and flicks.
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If we quickly talk about the match, Antony’s goal and assist helped the team to a comfortable win and six-point lead in the top-four race. With Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur losing, this result puts United in the driver’s seat to finish third in the table.
