Erik ten Hag knew the impact Antony would have on his Manchester United team.
Had it been up to the Old Trafford club, the Brazilian winger would have stayed at Ajax, not because United didn’t rate Antony, but because they didn’t consider him worth €100 million. Ten Hag, though, saw the player for more than just his individual talent.
Antony is talented. The 22-year-old has averaged 0.37 non-penalty goals per 90 minutes over the last 12 months. He is a threat in the attacking third, averaging 1.62 shots on target per 90 minutes, placing him in the 99th percentile in this area for players in his position. Antony is also known for his dribbling ability, averaging 9.24 progressive carries per 90 minutes.
But the transfer fee Manchester United paid for Antony, who worked with ten Hag at Ajax, has surely factored in how the Brazilian will give ten Hag’s team balance. Until Antony’s arrival at Old Trafford, United lacked a natural option on the right side. Now, though, they have someone with the ability to cut inside on his left foot.
For years, a large chunk of Manchester United’s attacking play flowed down the left wing. Last season, 43% of their play was channeled down this side, but that number has already balanced out since the signing of Antony: United is now averaging 37% of its play down the left wing, 35% down the right and 28% through the middle.
Jadon Sancho
The other change Ten Hag made was with Jadon Sancho, Manchester United’s biggest signing of the 2021 summer transfer window.
The England international endured a difficult first season at his new club. He was played out of position, deployed on the right wing simply because United didn’t have a better option on that side of the pitch.
Ten Hag has a firmer grasp of Sancho’s profile as a player, though. The 22-year-old is now being used as more of a creator, while Ole Gunnar Solskjaer saw him as someone to release in behind opposition defences. Sancho has also been shifted over to the left wing where he has always played his best football over the course of his career to date.
“We were missing a player on the right wing,” ten Hag explained after the signing of Antony from Ajax this summer. “[Jadon] Sancho and [Marcus] Rashford can play there but they prefer the left so now we have the missing link who can play well on the right. We needed that on the right wing with his pace and dribbles and expression.”
Tyrell Malacia
It’s not just Sancho and Rashford who will benefit from the knock-on of Antony’s signing. Indeed, Tyrell Malacia and Luke Shaw will have more space to operate within, now that Sancho is ahead of them.
Sancho isn’t a traditional winger in the way he plays the game. Instead, the 22-year-old is an inverted winger and his natural instinct to cut inside to create overloads and passing triangles opens up space for an overlapping full back to get forward.
This has already made United a more dynamic attacking outfit, as demonstrated by Malacia’s impressive displays in recent matches.
One of Manchester United’s biggest problems in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era has been a lack of coherence. There has been a disconnect between the play of the team on the pitch and the strategy in scouting and recruitment. This resulted in United assembling a group of individuals rather than building a team unit.
Clear vision
However, ten Hag has a clearer vision than any Manchester United manager appointed since Ferguson’s retirement. The Dutch coach has made some compromises to secure some short-term results, but he still wants his United team to play a possession-based game with high intensity in and out of possession.
That suits Antony.
United is still a work-in-progress. Diogo Dalot has been favoured over Aaron Wan-Bissaka at right back due to his sharper attacking instincts. Just as Sancho’s tendency to cut inside has created space for the full back on the left side of the defence, Antony could open up the right side for Manchester United.
Antony’s arrival has also helped revitalise Bruno Fernandes with the two players combining more than any other Manchester United pair since the signing of the Brazilian winger. Fernandes is most effective when he has teammates to bounce off and Antony could be the perfect foil for him, as Christian Eriksen develops an understanding with Sancho in the left half-space.
The return of Anthony Martial from injury could give Antony another attacker to combine with in the number nine position, but there is already enough at Old Trafford to harness the Brazilian winger.
Manchester United might have overpaid for Antony as an individual, but €100 million is quantifies the profound impact he has at the club.
