“We need to be as good as anyone else in the game at recruitment and we haven’t been,” Sir Jim Ratcliffe said on his first round of media interviews since his purchase of a 27.7 per cent stake in Manchester United was confirmed last week.
With that in mind, it was no surprise to see Ratcliffe’s right-hand man Sir Dave Brailsford engaging in a friendly chat with Rasmus Hojlund in the directors’ box at Old Trafford before the 2-1 defeat by Fulham. Brailsford and Hojlund embraced and then spent the next couple of minutes engaged in deep conversation.
Granted, Hojlund was overpriced at £72 million, but we have seen glimpses of promise from him of late and he scored eight goals in his previous eight matches before succumbing to a muscle injury on Friday that ruled him out for two to three weeks.
At 21 years old, he is United’s future. Can the same be said of Antony? United’s No 21 started his 24th birthday on the bench for the sixth successive Premier League match.
When Hojlund pulled up in the final training session before the Fulham game, Antony’s mood probably lifted a little. Nobody wants to see a team-mate get injured, but it would only be natural if Antony thought that Hojlund’s absence would improve his chances of starting the Fulham game.
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Unfortunately for Antony, that was not the case. Instead, Erik ten Hag handed Omari Forson, the 19-year-old winger, his first start instead. Forson, who is out of contract in the summer, started on the right wing, with Alejandro Garnacho on the left and Marcus Rashford up front.
Forson fared reasonably well, linking up a couple of times down the right with Diogo Dalot, and may well have had a debut goal if his first-half shot had not struck Victor Lindelof.
When Ten Hag decided to withdraw Forson in the 53rd minute, he replaced him with Christian Eriksen and moved Bruno Fernandes out on to the right.
After United went behind and it became clear that tactic was not working, Ten Hag called on Amad Diallo, the 21-year-old winger whose only previous appearance for United came as a 54th minute substitute in the defeat by Nottingham Forest two months ago.
Finally, with the score at 1-1 thanks to Harry Maguire’s equaliser, and the clock showing 92 minutes and 55 seconds, Ten Hag told Antony to put on his replica shirt and get ready to come on.
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But he did not actually get on the pitch until the ninth and final minute of added time, and even then, he was told to play on the left wing, rather than the right.
In the 55 seconds that Antony spent on the pitch before Michael Oliver blew the final whistle, the Brazilian touched the ball once, nudging a short pass to Garnacho.
The £85 million signing spent more time consoling his team-mates after the final whistle than he did playing football.
If we are to judge Antony’s place in the pecking order by Ten Hag’s selections over the last week, the Brazil international is fifth in line for the right-wing berth behind Garnacho, Forson, Fernandes and Diallo.
It begs the question: what is the point of Antony being at the club if his manager does not trust him to turn around a match?
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It was strange to hear Ten Hag say on Friday that Antony had “a point to prove” which seemed to indicate that he had some role planned for the Brazilian for the rest of the season, but he chose to bench him again.
Why has he struggled so much? Is Ten Hag not getting the best out of him, or was he never really good enough for the Premier League?
Ten Hag suggested this month that the winger’s focus has been affected by the accusations of assault that were levelled against him by his former girlfriend Gabriela Cavallin last September. He denies her claims and has been interviewed by Greater Manchester Police and the authorities in São Paulo. Both cases continue.
Antony, who has three years left on his contract, has one goal and one assist in 26 matches this season, both against Newport County in the FA Cup. Last year, he scored four times and set up two more goals in 25 Premier League matches.
Antony’s situation is symptomatic of United’s dysfunctional dealings in the transfer window in the recent past. Ineos will have to clean up this mess in the summer.
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The same goes for Sofyan Amrabat, who has played just six full games since United paid £8 million to take him on loan from Fiorentina for the season.
If United want to sign him permanently, they will need to cough up another £21.4 million but that looks unlikely given that Ten Hag brought Eriksen, who is out of form, and Scott McTominay on ahead of the Moroccan on Saturday.
For now, Ten Hag cannot afford to think about the summer transfer window. Defeats by Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup on Wednesday and in the derby against Manchester City next Sunday will do little to help his cause as he aims to prove he is the right man for the job.
Forest will beat United if Ten Hag’s team lack composure in both boxes, as was the case against Fulham.
Calvin Bassey, scorer of Fulham’s first goal, gave a frank assessment of United’s display. “We wanted it more [than United] today and that showed in the way we played,” he said.
