Manchester United have a gem on their hands in the form of winger Antony.
That is the view of former Aston Villa and Liverpool attacker Stan Collymore, who believes the former Ajax wide-man could ‘become one of the best attackers in Europe’.
Antony, 23, has enjoyed a solid opening campaign for the Red Devils. Despite arriving in England carrying a hefty £85m price tag (Sky Sports), the South American, who has scored eight goals and provided two assists in 35 games, has been one of the side’s most effective players.
Antony, who was recently in action in the Premier League against Nottingham Forest, put in a Man of the Match performance, opening the scoring for his side before setting up teammate Diogo Dalot in the game’s second half, and Collymore has raised the 23-year-old’s latest showing.
“I really like Antony,” Collymore said in an exclusive interview.
“I have said it before, he could do with bulking up physically, which always helps in the Premier League, but he’s a really exciting young player.
“The Brazillian had a great game against Nottingham Forest on Sunday, I thought his assist for Diogo Dalot’s goal showed glimpses of how creative he can be for Manchester United. He still needs to add consistency to his game, but I expect that to come with time.”
Going on to say that by tweaking his style of play and making his approach to attacking simpler, Collymore believes it’ll only be a matter of time before United’s talented number 21 becomes one of the best forwards in Europe.
“Antony needs to focus more on beating his man and then playing the ball,” the ex-pro added.
“The simple stuff is always the most effective and if he needs any pointers, then he doesn’t need to look any further than Jack Grealish at Manchester City. Grealish was, at times, guilty of overdoing it too, but Pep Guardiola has reminded him to do the simple stuff – pick the ball up, beat the first man and then either look for a pass, take a shot, or get a cross in. If Antony can apply the same basic stuff to his game then I expect him to go on to be one of the best in Europe.”