Manchester United have spent £120m on right-wingers across the last few seasons — Jadon Sancho, Amad and Facundo Pellistri — and yet the green light was given for Erik ten Hag to sign right-sided forward Antony from Ajax in the summer.
Antony was signed for £84m, taking the club's spend on right-wingers in the last three years to more than £200m. That is an extraordinary outlay, especially considering it has still felt as though United are light on options in that position at times this season.
Rather unsurprisingly, given the transfer fee he commanded, Antony has become first-choice in that position, but he's failed to record a single assist and it's almost February, which has led supporters to question his status as a regular starter.
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Earlier this week Ten Hag insisted 'the team is better' when Antony plays, but the Brazilian is guilty of being predictable against Premier League defenders, as his preference to cut inside and shoot with his left foot is hardly a secret.
Antony might have lost his place by now had he faced genuine competition down the right, but Ten Hag's hands are currently tied in that area. Sancho has not made a matchday squad since late October, Amad joined Sunderland on a season-long loan in August and Pellistri was a peripheral squad figure until very recently when he finally made his first-team debut.
That's also without mentioning Anthony Elanga, who could leave on loan this January. Elanga is seen as Ralf Rangnick's legacy, but there is a feeling he's below the level required to succeed at the club and he last scored 11 months ago.
The positive news is that Sancho is close to playing again after returning to training last week and that Pellistri has impressed throughout January in the two appearances he's made against Charlton and Nottingham Forest in the League Cup.
Pellistri marked his long-awaited debut with an assist against Charlton at Old Trafford earlier this month and he was bright and proactive again at the City Ground on Wednesday night after replacing Antony on the 70-minute mark.
Ten Hag was asked about Pellistri's impressive substitute performance after the victory and he said: "We have seen some physicality, he had some good movements, some good runs in behind, he has speed so he has to bring that into our game.
"I think he is a player who can play really good between the lines because he can be ball-secure. A little bit different, like a left-footed right winger we have with Antony and he is right-footed and his good chance he created was his cross for Wout Weghorst."
Ten Hag has been impressed with Pellistri, who is understood to train well at Carrington, and his assessment of the youngster suggested he could be more involved going forward than he has been so far this season.
Antony has rarely attempted to beat the opposition full-back, to play a cross into the box, during his time at the club, whereas Pellistri always looks to provide balls into the box from the right, just like he did against Forest.
He's a unique option in that position, or a 'different' option, as Ten Hag described him. Pellistri's cameos have shown he's worthy of more minutes this term.
Pellistri has the potential to become a valued dressing room member, while the same can be said about Amad, who was signed for a fee of £19m rising to £37m, as he is enjoying an excellent loan with Sunderland in the Championship.
Amad was named the Championship's Player of the Month for December and he's scored seven goals in his last 13 appearances.
There is optimism at United that Amad can play a role next season and he has certainly given the impression he could compete in the Premier League. The winger is still only 20 years old and he's far from the ceiling of his development.
United invested £46m in Pellistri and Amad and that had seemed like a waste, despite both players remaining young, but they are starting to show why the club's scouts and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer were keen to bring them to Manchester.
Ten Hag's right-wing options have been limited for the first six months of his reign, but he might have four players, Antony, Sancho, Pellistri and Amad, vying to play in that position by the beginning of his second season at the club.
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