Manchester United winger Antony during his loan spell at Real Betis
Manchester United winger Antony during his loan spell at Real Betis
Manchester United supporters have been watching on enviously in recent weeks after seeing Antony suddenly rediscover his form away from Old Trafford.
Since moving to the Theatre of Dreams, the Brazilian has looked a like fish out of water in the Premier League. The physicality of the division as well as the strength of opposition has plagued the Brazilian and would ultimately pay a strong role in Erik ten Hag leaving the club back in October.
It was no surprise then that Ruben Amorim took the opportunity to move Antony on at his earliest convenience with Real Betis more than happy to give the winger a second chance. Since then, the 25-year-old has flourished in Spain bagging three goals and three assists in just eight appearances.
To put that in perspective, he managed just five assists in 96 appearances for the Reds. Such form has encouraged his agent, Junior Pedroso, to go on the attack and state wildly that Amorim's mismanagement of his client explained his downturn in form.
You would be forgiven for forgetting that Amorim arrived at United in 2022 and not November 2024... The truth is that perhaps this upsurge in form is perhaps not as good as it first appeared.
United faced ninth place Real Sociedad on Thursday night and you can clearly tell that they are not comparable to Fulham, who also sit ninth in their respective division, or Aston Villa who are tenth. The Basque club looked devoid of ideas throughout the night and it was only when they gained a controversial penalty that they looked like a threat.
For context, since moving to Spain, Antony has had goal contributions against Real Sociedad, Getafe, Celta Vigo as well as Gent and Vitoria Guimaraes in the Conference League. Arguably these clubs are not comparable to those who play week in, week out in the Premier League and there is no suggestion that if Antony was to return to Old Trafford to play next season that his current form would translate in England.
Perhaps the only positive from a United perspective is that this form could earn the club a good sum in the summer. But suggestions that this could ignite Antony's career in Manchester are wide of the mark.
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