Former centre-back Rio Ferdinand is backing Antony to become a real crowd-pleaser at Old Trafford following confirmation of his impending arrival at Manchester United.
United, who will be going in search of a third successive victory when they travel to Leicester City on Thursday night, have confirmed that they have reached an agreement with Ajax to sign the Brazilian, subject to him passing his medical, agreeing personal terms and securing international clearance. He will join the club in a deal worth up to €100million (£85.5m), making him their second-most-expensive signing of all-time.
Manager Erik ten Hag has wanted to add Antony to his pool of attacking options throughout the summer, quickly identifying him as his top target to strengthen United's wide options. United were forced to cool their interest in the 22-year-old not so long ago because of Ajax's hefty-sized financial demands.
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However, United have, in the end, caved into the Dutch giants' wishes, meaning Antony will arrive in the Premier League with a huge sense of pressure mounting on his shoulders. Nevertheless, Ferdinand believes he is a player that has the potential to excite the Old Trafford faithful.
Ferdinand, speaking on Vibe with Five, said: "What does Antony bring? He brings his trickery and he brings that unpredictable Brazilian element.
"He is a fantastic, technical football player, who plays on the right-hand side of the front-three, cutting in on his left foot – he's left-footed predominantly. He's a man who's a box full of tricks.
"He's someone who wants to beat people but he has got an eye for a pass as well. He can create, he can slide balls through for the attacking players and people who make good runs off of him.
"What he does like to do is tease players by bringing defenders towards him, which creates space in behind and that enables him to find the runner with the great vision that he has. He's not only a great dribbler and a player that takes the ball to the defenders and stand them up one-v-one, he's going to get fans of their seats at Old Trafford I'm sure of that, the tenacity he plays with."
Although Ferdinand is excited to see what Antony can bring to the table for United, he is challenging him to increase his attacking output, in terms of both goals and assists.
"The areas he needs to improve in are just his stats, as in his end product with assists and goals," Ferdinand added. "I think he got double figures at Ajax the last two years he's been there.
"I think ten and 12 [goals], assists very similar as well. I think he's somebody that likes a system, but he has to make sure that he drills himself to drive those stats up and those numbers up, because all the best teams in the world that win things right now, their front-three, across the front three - whether you play left, right or the middle - score and assist goals. That's the area he’ll need to improve."
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