Manchester United: “Antony is not worth €100 million, not even close,” says Van Basten
The former Dutch player knows a thing or two about scoring goals and can’t believe the amount being paid to Ajax for the Brazilian.
Antony’s signing looks like being one of the highlights of the final week of the summer transfer window, as the Premier League continues to show its immense power in the market. Manchester United have finally managed to close the deal, with Ajax having rejected a previous offer of €90 million (€1=$1) for the Brazilian winger.
United valuation for Antony questioned
Although not yet official, it is said that the Old Trafford club is going to pay €100 million for the player wanted by new boss Erik ten Hag, his former club benefitting from his desire to work again with players he knows.
“Antony worth 100 million euros? No, not even close. He hasn’t shown too much yet.”
However, Marco Van Basten, one of the all-time greats in and about the opposition goal, is not convinced by what the English club is doing. According to the legendary Dutch player, Antony is not worth the money. What’s more, he states that he has quite a few flaws and that he has not yet achieved anything in football, simply a player with some potential.
“Is Antony worth 100 million euros? No, not even close. Antony hasn’t shown too much yet,” Van Basten said on Dutch TV.
“Of course, he has played some good matches. But his efficiency hasn’t been high in the last two years. Ajax have a great youth academy, our youth education is very good. And then you go to buy a youth player for a mega amount. Something is wrong then.
“Too many times he fumbles or things go wrong. A winger can lose the ball, but there is a limit. If you want to dribble every time you have the ball and it goes wrong 7 times out of 10... You have to pay attention to how often he loses the ball.”
No doubt Ten Hag is confident of developing the Brazilian in the coming months as the reality is that Antony will be a new Premier League player and will be expected to deliver for a club in search for a return to the good times. They’ve certainly thrown enough money at it, but that approach hasn’t worked in recent years for them.
A reminder to our younger readers of just how special a striker Van Basten was: