Man Utd told to sell ‘average player’ who is ‘not contributing’ as ‘quickly as possible’

Antony during a Premier League match

Former Man Utd striker Dwight Yorke insists the Red Devils need to sell Antony and other “average players” as “quickly as possible”.

The Red Devils invested £85m to bring the Brazilian to Old Trafford in the summer of 2022 with Erik ten Hag vouching that his former winger at Ajax was the real deal.

However, Antony has not lived up to expectations and has struggled to adapt to the Premier League with the Brazil international yet to score or assist a goal this season.

That has seen the Man Utd winger come in for a lot of criticism, especially with such a big price tag, and ex-Red Devils striker Yorke is unsure whether and Antony and other new signings at Old Trafford still want ‘to write their names into the history of the club’.

Yorke told Footy Accumulators: “I think back to players who succeeded at Man United, and all of them were eager to write their names into the history of the club and they wanted to be a part of the setup. I’m not sure if Man United players understand that these days.

“I don’t think it’s a surprise that Kevin De Bruyne came back and delivered an assist within twenty minutes. I’m also not surprised that we’re still talking about Antony and what he brings because he cost £85million.

“There are always going to be question marks when you sign a player for that much, especially when they’re playing for a club like Man United. Players like Antony will understand they’re not performing as they should.

“It’s tough for him and I feel for him, but it’s both his and the club’s responsibility if things don’t work out. The club has to move these players on as quickly as possible or else they’ll find themselves in the same position every year – having average players signed to long contracts and not contributing what we expect of them.”

But former Chelsea and Liverpool defender Glen Johnson has defended Antony this week and thinks the constant criticism of the winger – who has been linked with a move away from Old Trafford this winter – is “unfair”.

“When you look at it in terms of why Antony is getting so much stick and not them [Enzo Fernandez & Moisés Caicedo], it does seem unfair,” Johnson told Betfred.

“But none of us want to see these players get the stick in the first place. At the end of the day, all of them want to perform at their best, but sometimes in life, that’s not how it is.”

“You don’t want to see any of them getting grief, but Antony certainly gets an awful lot of backlash and has, in a way, taken the spotlight away from the likes of Moisés and Enzo.”

“However, I don’t believe any of them deserve that kind of criticism anyway. They’re only criticised because of the price tag, but they haven’t hit the heights.”