Manchester United have been told by their former defensive enforcer Jaap Stam that star signing Antony is not good enough to play for the Red Devils. United boss Erik ten Hag persuaded his club to pay Ajax £82million in exchange for Antony in the summer of 2022 after the player had impressed in the Netherlands. But the winger has flopped since moving to Old Trafford.
Stam appeared alongside former team-mates Gary Neville and Roy Keane as well as Arsenal icon Ian Wright and Liverpool hero Jamie Carragher on The Overlap to discuss the Red Devils’ current plight. And after being asked why Ten Hag can’t put his stamp on the club despite spending £400m, the 51-year-old explained: “That’s a difficult one.
“I have respect for what he did in Holland and what he did last year at Manchester United. I think he’s a good coach and I’m wondering this myself and we even asked him for Via Play, when are we going to see this style of play we saw at Ajax?
“It has to do with your players as well, but he invested a lot of money in players that he bought. But are they the right players? My opinion is that they’re not.”
Click here to join our WhatsApp community to be the first to receive breaking and exclusive Man Utd news.
And as Stam turned his attention to Antony’s lack of output, he added: “From what I’ve seen from Antony, he’s not good enough for this level that we’re looking for at United. Because you’re also looking for a player who can have a difficult time and struggle when he comes in, but where he is making progress to get to that level.
“When you’re looking at Antony now, at this moment, you don’t see where he can make the progress to make the next step in the Premier League to be up there with the top wingers who can make a difference.
“In Holland, he did okay but it wasn’t like he was the best player in Holland. He did okay for Ajax but then again they’re playing in a league with a couple of good players. And the rest of the league, with all respect, are mediocre players.
“They’re (Ajax) always dominating so he could always do his trickery, put the crosses in and play a one-two. But at this level – and that’s down to recruitment together with the management – they need to make the right choices to bring the players in who can really make a difference in the Premier League. I was surprised by Antony’s fee.”
