Erik ten Hag was reportedly deeply frustrated with Manchester United’s Antony throughout the 2023/2024 season.
The 24-year-old arrived at United from Ajax in August 2022 for a mammoth price of £86 million, making him the second biggest signing in United’s history.
The Brazilian had a decent first season at the club but his second was a nightmare. Three goals and two assists alongside numerous lifeless displays meant he was subjected to intense criticism throughout the season.
Ten Hag’s reputation has also took a battering because of the Brazilian’s displays and according to a report by The Athletic, the Dutchman has been infuriated by the Brazilian on numerous times last season.
Antony twice showed his petulance at the manager after Ten Hag’s request to him to play as an emergency left-back during matches.
“He made an exploding motion with his hand to his head when Ten Hag told him to play at left-back during the 4-3 FA Cup win over Liverpool and repeated the action — a sign of his incredulity — when shifted to the same position in the 1-0 Premier League loss to Arsenal.
“In the dressing room afterwards, Ten Hag ripped into the Brazilian, telling him bluntly he had to play where he was told, with United trying on both occasions to take drastic measures to turn games around.”
The former Ajax coach felt that he could not relax his approach with Antony and needed to show “strong leadership” due to the deeply political nature of the United dressing room, where he would be “slaughtered” by players for showing leniency.
The winger also felt the full brunt of Ten Hag’s wrath after a woeful performance against Everton in March, “to the extent that Antony appeared visibly affected” by the admonishment.
Those close to the situation state that the manager is “deeply disappointed the signing is not working out, especially after backing Antony at various stages, including when police opened an investigation over domestic violence allegations.”
Now that the 54-year-old has finally been publicly backed by the club and will reportedly sign a two-year extension, one of his many huge decisions to make is what to do with the Brazilian.
It has been relayed here that Antony is very much up for sale if anybody is prepared to pay anything close to an acceptable offer.
However his poor form, huge wages and legal problems are all major obstacles for United to rid themselves of the Brazilian.
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