Manchester United’s identity is probably misunderstood more than that of any club. It doesn’t help that they have spent most of the last decade struggling to pin one down. But even the most out-of-their-depth pundit manages a two-word phrase to describe what the Red Devils have historically been all about: “flying wingers”. For the first time in a while, United have actually got one.
Ajax’s tricky wide man Antony comes to Old Trafford for €100 million, a record fee paid for an Eredivisie player. Football fans have long memories and it is debatable whether Antony will ever get out from underneath his price tag. The travails of Romelu Lukaku last season were always reported with his £97.5 million fee following closely behind. Harry Maguire is still analysed through the prism of being the world’s most expensive centre back at £80 million. United’s new acquisition will be the €100 million man on his best days, but especially on his worst.
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But United have got something for their money, something they have sorely lacked. A true, out-and-out flair wide man. While the reigns of Sir Matt Busby, Tommy Docherty, Ron Atkinson and Sir Alex Ferguson spanned over half a century, the tricky wingers they each employed were the connective tissue that reminded you what team you were watching. Whether it was the Belfast Boy, Willie on the wing or Giggs tearing you apart again; United had proper attacking wingers. Players whose flair and trickery stick in the memory far more than their goals and assists. Players that could get a team out of a slump and a fan out of a seat.
Steve Coppell, Andrei Kanchelskis and Nani. Billy Meredith, Jesper Olsen and Cristiano Ronaldo. United does wingers better than most. Or at least they did. The current vintage has wide men in abundance, but they are players of a very different type. Marcus Rashford is a converted striker who operates as more of a wide forward. Jadon Sancho has the right profile, but too often blunts his edge and turns to pass back to his full back rather than taking on the opposing defence. Anthony Elanga is young and raw, but perhaps hews the closest to genuine wing play. Anthony Martial is ill-suited to a wide role and always looks his best playing through the middle. The club has also frequently deployed the recently-departed Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard in wide roles despite both being traditional number 10s.
Signing Antony feels like the first time in a while that United will be fielding a winger who fits the traditional remit for such a role. The Brazil star has had his scoring record criticised in some quarters, having netted just 25 goals in 82 games for Ajax. But Antony has been a victim of poor branding in parts of the press. The club’s struggles over Ronaldo, and apparent need to replace the wantaway striker, have seen Antony viewed as a direct replacement.
Reports surrounding his capture have frequently labelled him “Ajax forward Antony” and his signing has been misinterpreted as an effort to replace Ronaldo. To put it into context, he has played 100 of his 119 career games on the right wing. A further six have come on the left. Six appearances have been stretched across slightly deeper wide midfield roles. Antony has played just one game up front and even that saw him operating as a second striker rather than a dyed-in-the-wool frontman.
So if he is not providing an option up front, what is Antony giving United? Well for a start, he is giving them goals. Totals of 9 in 32 and 8 in 23 over the last two seasons are not the stuff Ronaldo replacements are made of, but they are solid totals for a winger. His total of 12 assists across those two campaigns needs work but shows he can lay on chances.
The main contribution Antony can provide does not appear on a facts sheet or within the zeroes and ones of statistical software. The 22-year-old is brave in possession, keen to run at defenders and employs a veritable box of tricks to out-manoeuvre his opponents. His style differs from the direct, striker-like approach of Rashford and Martial or the foot-on-the-ball consideration Sancho seems to employ these days. He is an old-fashioned winger willing to take on his man at the risk of losing the ball in order to humiliate them and carve out a chance.
It remains to be seen whether the modern, stats-obsessed world will embrace such bravery in the Premier League. G/A, x/G and PPDA seem to have overtaken the visceral thrill of seeing players do what they do best with style and panache. Antony’s new teammate Bruno Fernandes has found himself criticised for trying the spectacular route rather than harvesting high-percentage passes with less risk. Antony could end up frustrating and confounding fans if he gives the ball away too much.
But manager Erik ten Hag knows what he is getting with Antony. He has just won a league title with the young Brazilian at Ajax last season. He is not a replacement for Ronaldo. He is not really a replacement for anyone in the current squad. Antony is a player who can offer a different look to anyone else in that team. If Antony is replacing anyone, it’s the ghosts of United’s wingers of the past. The ones who still tear down the corridors of Carrington throwing stepovers and pirouettes. Who knows what United’s true identity is? But one thing is for sure, they can once again boast a “flying winger”.
