Expensive Man Utd star told he must ‘step up two gears’ or risk Ten Hag wrath

A big-money Manchester United signing has been told by a former Red Devils player he must improve next season, or he will fall out of favour under manager Erik ten Hag.

After signing the likes of Lisandro Martinez, Casemiro, Antony and Christian Eriksen last summer, Man Utd went on to finish third in the Premier League during their first season with Ten Hag at the helm. They also won the League Cup for the first time since 2016-17, though they were beaten in the FA Cup final by rivals Manchester City.

Man Utd have helped Ten Hag complete the next stage of his first team revolution this summer by bringing in Mason Mount and Andre Onana. Mount has joined in a £60million deal from Chelsea, while Onana was signed from Inter for £47m.

Ten Hag will also be able to use a new striker in the near future after Man Utd agreed a deal with Atalanta for Rasmus Hojlund. Man Utd will pay an initial £64m for the Dane, plus a potential £8m in add-ons.

While those three new arrivals will be looking to make a big impression in the coming months, winger Antony still needs to win over the Man Utd faithful.

The Brazilian, who cost a whopping £86m when joining from Ajax, showed glimpses of his talent last season but was not a reliable performer. Indeed, he frustrated pundits such as Roy Keane due to his habit of taking a player on multiple times rather than getting a shot or cross away.

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Jaap Stam, who made 127 appearances for Man Utd between 1998 and 2001, has now given his verdict on Antony. He thinks the expensive attacker must take his game up one or two notches, otherwise he will be dropped by Ten Hag.

“You know Antony’s got quality, of course, on the ball,” the former defender told Man Utd club media.

Antony told he must ‘step up a gear’ at Man Utd

“He’s got decent pace, even if he’s not lightning. He needs to become, and I know we were talking about being predictable in a way of playing, then he needs to step up a gear to make a change.

“As a winger, you always need to be very decisive. You need to take initiative on the ball. You need to go forward. You need to take on your one-v-ones and you need to make it difficult for your opposition by, one time, going inside and, the other time, going outside.

“Of course, that’s the thing that I think he still needs to do a little bit more. But we know him from Holland as well. We know his ability and his quality. And I think he can step up, you know, one or two gears.

“So he needs to show that this season. He had last season as well to get adjusted to the league and to get adjusted to the opposition he’s facing as well.

“So it is going to be exciting to see how he’s going to be changing his game next season.”

Meanwhile, the player Man Utd will capture after Hojlund’s move is confirmed has been revealed.