According to Erik Ten Hag, Antony has become “impatient” due to his lack of playing time at Manchester United.
He has only played once this season, coming on as a substitute in the 89th minute against Brighton on August 25.
Antony was expected to feature in United’s 3-0 win over Southampton on Saturday, but Matthijs De Ligt had to leave due to cramps, and Casemiro was brought on instead.
Antony appeared in 21 of United’s 52 games last season, but the Brazilian international hasn’t started in any of their five pre-season tournaments.
Meanwhile, other wingers like Amad, Alejandro Garnacho, and Marcus Rashford have all scored this season, and Ten Hag couldn’t guarantee that Antony would start in the League Cup third-round match against League One side Barnsley on Tuesday night.
Antony is United’s second most expensive signing after Paul Pogba. The club acquired the Brazilian player for an initial fee of £81.3 million from Ajax during the 2022 transfer deadline, but Antony has only managed to score 11 goals in 83 matches.
Garnacho was signed from Atletico Madrid in 2020, while Amad was considered a promising young talent when he arrived from Atalanta for an initial price of £19 million a few weeks later.
“This is professional football, this is high-level football,” Ten Hag responded when asked if Antony was struggling to compete with two younger wingers.
“These are the rules. You choose the team that has the best chance of winning a game.”
Players must fight for their positions. “You select the XI with the best dynamic, the best chemistry. There are two players doing well, and we are happy with that.”
“Two players have grown up with the group, with the team.” Now it’s Antony’s turn to come back, and he has the ability to do so. When he makes the right choices, he can compete with them.
Ten Hag explained that the performance of Antony’s competitors has contributed to his reduced role.
“The other players are doing very well, they’re making contributions. We have Amad, Garnacho – extremely effective. Rashford scored over the weekend.”
“So, he needs to earn his place in training, but the others are performing really well.” He has to overcome them. Of course, he’s impatient. He wants to play and is fighting to play.”
