Former Manchester United star Jaap Stam has questioned whether Antony will make the grade for the Red Devils.
Erik ten Hag brought his old Ajax winger over to Old Trafford 18 months ago yet he has struggled to justify the £85million fee agreed for his services, with zero goals to his name this campaign.
Antony recently hit out at pundits criticising his performances but he made little impact in Tuesday's Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich, firing off a single shot and getting booked before being substituted on 75 minutes.
Stam, who won the Champions League plus three Premier League titles with United, has suggested the Brazilian will never live up to his fee.
“From what I’ve seen from Antony, he’s not good enough for this level that we’re looking for at United," he told Sky Bet's Stick to Football podcast.
"Because you’re also looking for a player who can have a difficult time and struggle when he comes in, but [we can see] where he is making progress to get to that level.
Antony's struggled to find form across his last 25 games for Man United 😔 pic.twitter.com/yqC8fAb64W
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) December 12, 2023
“When you’re looking at Antony now, at this moment, you don’t see where he can make the progress to make the next step in the Premier League to be up there with the top wingers who can make a difference.
“In Holland, he did okay but it wasn’t like he was the best player in Holland. He did okay for Ajax but then again, they’re playing in a league with a couple of good players, and the rest of the league - with all respect – are mediocre players. They’re [Ajax] always dominating so he could always do his trickery, put the crosses in and play a one-two.
"But at this level - and that’s down to recruitment together with the management – they need to make the right choices to bring the players in who can really make a difference in the Premier League. I was surprised by Antony’s fee.”
Antony is not the only player Ten Hag has signed for United from his old teams, in a strategy Dutch ex-defender Stam believes is failing.
“For a manager, you need to be careful," he said. "If you want to play in a certain way, you look at players that you have worked with in the past so they can help you out and Ten Hag has done that. But you need to be careful because you need to look at the league you’re in and where you’re going to and if they can bring the same level.
“With the players that have come in, a lot of the players are struggling to bring that level. It’s not only about the technical ability, it’s about physique and you need to have legs to run up and down the pitch and you need to be clever.
“The whole package needs to be there if you want to perform and get to a certain level. Looking at the players at United now, it’s hard to find within the whole squad players that you think are going to make it to the highest level.”
