Ten Hag probed for ‘wasting’ huge sum on Man Utd signing he should’ve known better about

Simon Jordan has savaged Erik ten Hag, stating Antony was a “waste of money” and the manager should be asked why he bought him “especially as he knew him”.

Antony is the most expensive signing ever made by Erik ten Hag. The approximately £85million spent on the Brazilian is around £24million more than the manager has ever spent on another player.

He is also the second most-expensive United player ever, after Paul Pogba.

But as per Jordan, the winger has done next to nothing, and Ten Hag should be probed for the useless signing of a player he should have known better about.

“Of course, there is a pressure and, of course, there is an expectation because if you spend big money on players, naturally you expect big outcomes,” Jordan said on talkSPORT.

“If a £25m footballer doesn’t succeed, there’s less noise around it. In this instance, with Antony, at £25m, he would have been a bad buy because he’s been poor and everything about him has been poor.

“He’s brought nothing. What has he brought to Manchester United beside headlines? Certainly nothing on the football field.

“So, at £25m, you would be saying it’s a waste of money, at £85m, you’ve got to look at the manager and ask why he bought him, especially as he knew him.”

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Antony has been a fringe player

This season, Ten Hag has preferred the likes of Alejandro Garnacho and Amad Diallo to Antony.

Indeed, the Brazilian has played just one minute in the Premier League, before getting a full 90 in the League Cup against Barnsley.

He scored what was seemingly a pity penalty, with Marcus Rashford on the field, and it was suggested that he has found his level, and it’s not good enough for him to only play well against small teams.

“If Antony’s level of playing has gone down to the Carabao Cup against Barnsley, then that is not the sort of line you want to take in your career when you move for so much money,” Marcel Van der Kraan said.

Meanwhile, 20-year-old Garnacho has four goals and three assists already this term.

United plotting squad improvements

United will hope that they do not make a transfer mistake as costly as Antony in the future.

There are multiple stars in different positions on their radar, one of which is Bayern Munich midfielder Leon Goretzka, who is said to be upset at a lack of minutes this season.

But Vincent Kompany has stated the midfielder is loved, suggesting United prising him away could be tough.

In the attack, Karim Adeyemi is on the radar, and reports state Borussia Dortmund could find it tough to keep him amid interest from United and Liverpool.

The latest links are to Dinamo Zagreb’s Martin Baturina, who it’s believed United will be able to land ahead of fellow interested side Real Madrid.

How has Antony fared at United

Antony’s lack of minutes in the Premier League this season is not without reason. He had an awful time of it last campaign, scoring one goal and assisting one more in 29 games.

He did at least score twice and assist once in the FA Cup, taking his tallies for the season to three goals and two assists.

For reference, Garnacho has already beaten that inside six games this season, whereas it took Antony 38 games to register those numbers last term.

In the season prior, the Brazilian scored eight goals and provided three assists in all competitions.

In all, across 84 games at United, Antony has 12 goals and five assists. An overall tally of 17 for an £85million player means that every goal contribution so far has cost United £5million each.

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