Manchester United have been told in no uncertain terms they could be paying over the odds to sign Antony and their funds may have been better directed elsewhere.
Former Netherlands manager Bert van Marwijk has warned the Red Devils their imminent £85million arrival from Ajax is "not a scoring player" and PSV Eindhoven forward Cody Gakpo is a "more physically capable" player. United have agreed a mammoth fee to reunite Antony with Erik ten Hag and, as a result, they have cooled their interest in Gakpo.
The Brazilian has never broken into double figures for goals in the Eredivisie, whereas his PSV rival struck 12 times in the Dutch top flight last season. Antony is vastly technically gifted but Van Marwijk is "curious" to discover if the 22-year-old will be able to cope with the rigours of the Premier League.
"Ajax did well to take €100million (£85m) from Manchester United anyway," he wrote in his De Telegraaf column. "It is the absolute top price and that amount the club would never have received in the future for Antony. I have heard the criticism that Antony was never able to score 10 goals in a season at Ajax.
"But he is not a scoring player - and he will not score much in England. But he can make the difference because he has the ability to create things and can always give an assist. He looks spectacular with his actions, but is also really decisive. What I'm curious about is whether he can handle the physical resistance in the Premier League. We will find out soon."
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Antony chipped in with four assists in the Eredivisie last season, while Gakpo, 23, had the second-most in the division with 13. Van Marwijk has no doubt the former is the more "spectacular" of the pair but suspects the latter may have been the team player more suited to Ten Hag's fledgeling project at Old Trafford.
He added: "Cody Gakpo is more physically capable than Antony. He also has the ability to work himself to death for the team. Many creative players are lazy players by nature. But Gakpo is less spectacular than Antony - and therefore Antony's market value is higher. However, Gakpo will always be an ideal team player. Therefore, you can ask who would have the most value for Manchester United at the moment?"
Antony is believed to have agreed a £200,000-per-week contract with United and he is expected to make his debut against Arsenal on Sunday evening. Thursday's clash with Leicester is likely to come too soon as he aims to secure a work permit and officially complete his transfer to the 20-time English champions.
