Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville has told Antony he has "a lot to do" in order to live up to his €95million (£84m) transfer fee but dismissed comparisons between the forward and Paul Pogba.
United announced that they had completed the signing of long-term target Antony on transfer deadline day this summer. The Brazilian hit the ground running, scoring on his debut against Arsenal in a 3-1 win at Old Trafford.
The 22-year-old then went on to score in successive matches for Erik ten Hag's side, with strikes against Manchester City and Everton. However, Antony has failed to find the back of the net for United since his goal at Goodison Park in October in what has been a concerning dip in form.
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The former Ajax man looked certain to break that barren run against Wolves on New Year's Eve, yet the winger somehow saw his close-range header saved by Jose Sa in the first half.
Settling into a new league always takes time and Ten Hag will be confident that he can get Antony firing on all cylinders in the New Year. Yet the pressure associated with a large transfer fee will hang over the forward as fans demand a certain level of performance associated with such a large price-tag.
This is something that Neville is all too aware of after the former United defender took to social media to share his surprise that Chelsea had reportedly agreed a deal with Benfica to sign Argentina star Enzo Fernandez.
He said: "Are Chelsea paying €127m for Enzo Fernandez? That’s one hell of a price. A very good player but bloody hell!"
Fans were then quick to point out some level of hypocrisy after Neville failed to comment on Antony's transfer fee, with one even hinting at a comparison between the Brazilian and Pogba - the Frenchman signed for United in 2016 for a then world-record £89m transfer fee.
Yet the former United captain was quick to dismiss similarities between the two, while still admitting that Antony had to improve on his recent performances.
Neville tweeted: "Agree with Anthony [sic] (he’s a lot to do to get to 95m price tag). [Paul] Pogba had pedigree when he signed for United so not comparable."
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