Manchester United icon Dwight Yorke has urged supporters to raise their standards when assessing Antony’s recent performances for the club. Antony has been praised by some for his displays in recent weeks, with some fans going as far as to say he has shown glimpses of the £86million quality Erik ten Hag signed last summer.
However, the 23-year-old winger has scored no goals and provided just one assist in his last 26 United appearances.
He’s contributed to Ten Hag’s toothless attack this season; 18 Premier League goals is the lowest tally among the top 14 clubs.
And he showed little sign of a threat as United produced just one shot on target in Tuesday’s must-win Champions League game against Bayern Munich – a 1-0 defeat.
Yorke, who formed one of the most lethal strike partnerships in United’s storied history alongside Andy Cole, has insisted that the standards must be higher.
The 1999 treble winner went as far as telling Antony to “man up” and start repaying Ten Hag’s faith to bring him to Old Trafford from Ajax.
“People must be having a laugh if they’re praising Antony for putting in some decent performances – he was £85 million,” Yorke told InstantCasino.com.
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“Everybody is entitled to their opinion, but we need to be frank – Anthony just hasn’t been good enough.
“It’s all well and good, producing the occasional decent performance, but that shouldn’t be an acceptable benchmark at Man United.
“I appreciate that every player needs time to settle in, but Antony is another player who needs to man up. He needs to blitz down that right-hand side, cut in, assist, and score goals.
“That’s what they paid £85 million for. The discussion around Antony becoming an OK footballer is nonsense. He cost £85 million. He has to be better than that.”
Yorke also didn’t speak too highly of Jadon Sancho, who has been banished from the United first team since the start of September for disciplinary reasons.
The 52-year-old has accused Sancho of “strolling” along while his team-mates grind to improve the club’s results and believes he shouldn’t have contact with the other senior players.
He added: “Sancho shouldn’t be anywhere near the first team, and he shouldn’t mingle with the first team. I wouldn’t allow it if I were in charge.
“Man United are going through a tough spell right now, and they shouldn’t have to deal with the Sancho situation on top of it. The manager has to sort those situations out.
“Situations like this aren’t good for morale. The players will be trying their best to get results, but Sancho will be strolling through life. That’s just how I see it.”
