"Should never have been brought in for that money" - Gary Neville slams Erik ten Hag for overpaying for Manchester United attacker
Gary Neville has hit out at Manchester United for spending a reported £85 million on Antony. He claimed that the Brazilian was not worth that amount of money and that the board should have listened to the scouts.
Speaking on Sky Sports after Manchester United's loss to Nottingham Forest on Saturday (December 30), Neville opined that the scouting team was overruled by Eric ten Hag in regards to the purchase of Antony. Neville also clarified that it isn't the Brazilian's fault he was bought for so much money. He said:
"What looks to have happened here with United. Scouts can't have gone off to watch Antony and signed him off as being worth £85m. It looks like they've allowed Erik ten Hag to overrule them which is worrying because you need strength of leadership at the very top."
"I blame the football club for brining him in for £85m. It's not that boy's fault that he's been brought in as one of the most expensive wide players in world football. He should never have been brought in for that money."
Antony finished 2023 with just one goal in 33 Premier League matches. The Brazilian has not scored or assisted for Manchester United this season.
Marco van Basten warned Manchester United about Antony
Marco van Basten spoke about Antony soon after he was sold to Manchester United in 2022. The Dutch legend opined that the Brazilian was not worth the money he was signed for and added that he loses the ball far too often.
Van Basten said via AS:
"Is Antony worth 100 million euros? No, not even close. Antony hasn’t shown too much yet. Of course, he has played some good matches. But his efficiency hasn’t been high in the last two years. Ajax have a great youth academy, our youth education is very good. And then you go to buy a youth player for a mega amount."
"Something is wrong then. Too many times he fumbles or things go wrong. A winger can lose the ball, but there is a limit. If you want to dribble every time you have the ball and it goes wrong seven times out of 10... You have to pay attention to how often he loses the ball.”
To make matters worse, Manchester United have banished another expensive signing in the form of Jadon Sancho from the squad after he refused to apologize to Erik ten Hag. The Englishman hit out at the manager in September for scapegoating him and has been made to train with the U18 side ever since.