Antony | Here we go! €100mill, contract until June 2027, option 'til 2028.

[swooshboy]

And his crossing is comparable to Foden and Robertson based on the tweet's stats. I had seen videos of him pulling two type of crosses with his outside of his boot and when he cut inside. The ability to pull crosses with outside of his foot makes the player unpredictable despite of knowing he will only use his left foot. We need a good crosser from our flanks.

The number of times you see Ronaldo make a move and early run in the box but then instead of a player crossing the ball in, they just pass it backwards or sideways is so incredibly frustrating.

We have perhaps the greatest header of the ball there has ever been…yet we don’t even try and give him the chance of a ball to attack.

 

[Rojofiam]

He’s overpriced, but having someone coming in from the right (for once) and maybe Sancho in from the left totally changes the angles that the team plays at, which is probably worth a lot in itself. Carrasco and Gakpo are cheaper, but they don’t really solve a problem, do they?

Gakpo can play on the right effectively as well, even though he's right footed. Much like Mané or Gnabry.

 

[shahzy]

Im all aboard. He looks like a proper dribbler. Managers like Guardiola and i guess all progressive managers always REQUIRE a dribbler or two that can beat a man by themselves when attacking but this also allows them to be press resistant with back turned to goal. We thought Sancho would be that guy but he has not been. Antony seems to be quick and a very good dribbler.

When comparing to Gakpo, there is a clear difference in technical ability. I think in the long term Antony will be worth the difference in price from Gakpo.

 

[UNITED ACADEMY]

Gakpo doesn't seem to be typeof winger that does crossing. He reminds me of Memphis, cut inside and shoot. Antony seems to be someone that capable to cross the ball with his outside of his foot or cut inside to cross or shoot.

 

[FatTails]

So fecking tired of football.

 

[zenith]

100 million will be a colossal mistake. We are already seeing that Martinez is going to need a lot of time to adjust. Anthony will be the same and is really a huge gamble.

For once, I'm hoping someone up the hierarchy says no

 

[SoulSurvivor]

Antony clearly has the potential. He has the skills. But he isn't on Neymar level. I doubt he's even better than Raphinha.
For this kind of money you expect a Neymar type of player. Someone who has proven himself for YEARS.

This is way to much money for an Eredivisie player.

I sincerely hope he will succeed. But the risk is massive.

 

[Tarrou]

Antony clearly has the potential. He has the skills. But he isn't on Neymar level. I doubt he's even better than Raphinha.
For this kind of money you expect a Neymar type of player. Someone who has proven himself for YEARS.

This is way to much money for an Eredivisie player.

I sincerely hope he will succeed. But the risk is massive.

you're 10 years out of date

Chelsea just spent 60m on a left back from Brighton, Forest are spending 40m on nobodies.. Leicester are turning down 70m offers for Fofana

you don't get Neymar for 100m

a new Neymar today costs you 200+ especially if all the oil clubs want him

 

[sglowrider]

100 million will be a colossal mistake. We are already seeing that Martinez is going to need a lot of time to adjust. Anthony will be the same and is really a huge gamble.

For once, I'm hoping someone up the hierarchy says no

Or a Hakim Ziyech.

 

[Reyoji-Utd]

It is the going rate of the market now. If its from other league then we wouldnt discuss so much about the fees thing.

We are buying his worth now, his future potential, his familiarity with EtH tactics, flair, beating players, and the left foot that can score like Robben.

Poster complain about the fees, ok.
-if we happy to pay, we get the player
-if we dont, we dont get the player and wont/dont have any target.
-Question is why we have to think about the fees all the time? The Glazers are willing to pay now so just go ahead and buy to back the manager.

 

[Abdullah7]

I feel that he'll surprise many mongers and will be the right catalysts to our bumpy start. Keep it up Antony we got your back fella.

 

[RedRonaldo]

you're 10 years out of date

Chelsea just spent 60m on a left back from Brighton, Forest are spending 40m on nobodies.. Leicester are turning down 70m offers for Fofana

you don't get Neymar for 100m

a new Neymar today costs you 200+ especially if all the oil clubs want him

You can't just cherry pick some specific examples to justify this kind of money in this market though.

One can also say Haaland only cost 54m, Jesus only cost 47m, Diaz only cost 42m in this market too. All of them are easily better than Antony.

Truth is, 100m should get you someone who is absolutely top class young talent these days. Examples being Nunez, Tchouameni or Nkunku etc who is much more proven, and alot of top clubs would be interested in signing.

Antony should be more or less at similar range to someone like Raphina, who only cost around 50-60m. And even so, very very few top clubs are interested in signing Antony at that price, let alone at 80-100m.

 

[AjaxNL]

These crossing stats are pretty useless, as the opposition we face is so much weaker than in the prem, and Ajax is ultra attacking in the Eredivisie. Neither goes for United, so expect stats like these to plummet

 

[devilish]

People need to take stats with a bit of perspective. For example you can't compare the Dutch League with the EPL league. The gap in quality is huge.

 

[Tarrou]

You can't just cherry pick some specific examples to justify this kind of money in this market though.

One can also say Haaland only cost 54m, Jesus only cost 47m, Diaz only cost 42m in this market too.

Truth is, 100m should get you some absolutely top class young talent these days. Examples being Nunez and Tchouameni etc who is much more proven.

Antony should be more or less similar to Raphina, who only cost around 50-60m.

if the context is "100m should get you a Neymar".. then we're talking about players under contract, obviously

not players who go for a release clause or have one year left

Nunez and Tchouameni are other good examples of 100m not getting you a Neymar, or even close to it

 

[sglowrider]

People need to take stats with a bit of perspective. For example you can't compare the Dutch League with the EPL league. The gap in quality is huge.

Sancho has an even more impressive set of stats than Antony and came from the higher-quality Bundesliga.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

He looks technically very gifted. My worry would be whether he has that direct killer instinct and goal threat / end product. Hopefully not one who does a lot of pretty things but isn't the one to be able to decide games regularly. A lot of his clips have him trying tricks and beating defenders but not playing the final pass or scoring. On the left we have Sancho who has the potential to be an elite creative force but isn't a direct goal threat. Ideally you'd not want two of the same ilk.

But he looks better than the other players we are linked with as he seems to have a lot of natural tools.

 

[red_de_pologne]

Of course we’re overpaying. Thats why the club needs new owner to implement a proper strategy. But this is a player ETH really wanted so I’m glad we’re getting him. I think we want hin for his crossing

 

[devilish]

Sancho has an even more impressive set of stats than Antony and came from the higher-quality Bundesliga.

That's the point. The EPL reminds alot of the Serie A of the 80s and 90s. Back then it was normal for top quality players like Bergkamp, Rush and Pancev to go there and make a total fool of themselves. Meanwhile washed up Serie A players like Vialli or glorified donkeys like Ravanelli would go in the much weaker EPL and absolutely own it. I am not suggesting that we shouldn't buy players from weaker leagues. There were players from unknown leagues who did extremely well in the Serie A of that time and there will be players in similar circumstances who would take the EPL by surprise. However as the EPL gets tougher one need to brace himself that the failure rate will go up. Therefore the fee should reflect that.

 

[RedRonaldo]

if the context is "100m should get you a Neymar".. then we're talking about players under contract, obviously

not players who go for a release clause or have one year left

Nunez and Tchouameni are other good examples of 100m not getting you a Neymar, or even close to it

Fair enough but I don't think using Neymar examples is meaningful here. Neymar was a very special generational talent during his early years, a Brazilian golden boy and destined to be the next L.Ronaldo or Ronaldinho or even Pele. Remember the time when people are comparing him with Mess and Ronaldo during his peak years. He is really something back then.

At current market, only Mbappe is comparable to him. But even so, I think Neymar during his younger peak is easily better player than Mbappe.

If we go back to Antony case, we should compare him with the likes of Raphinha (at Leeds) or Diaz (at Porto), who only went for 40-50m.

 

[sglowrider]

However as the EPL gets tougher one need to brace himself that the failure rate will go up. Therefore the fee should reflect that.

I will just call it the Ajax Tax.

 

[redshaw]

It's a huge risk but also Ajax need to keep some players for their league and CL and it's late in the window. United are getting desperate for some life in attack so these factors bump up the price as well and I'm not sure he's enough.

Close to double Inflated price tags come with big expectations from fans that players can't deliver on as we've seen with Maguire and Pogba. Even if he is good it will need a very focused Ronaldo or other striker to finish it off. There's always a chance we can get some form out of the players we have but it's looking very bleak with form or injuries. I just hope if he comes he can keep going while we add more next season and fans don't start calling him a flop.

If he is a future star I'd rather we get him integrated than him going somewhere else.

 

[devilish]

I will just call it the Ajax Tax.

That's a different argument altogether. Players tend to join Ajax because its essentially a selling club who develop talent and has a reputation of being fair with its players and prospective buyers. If they ruin that reputation then rest assured that players would look elsewhere.

 

[Member 109952]

you're 10 years out of date

Chelsea just spent 60m on a left back from Brighton, Forest are spending 40m on nobodies.. Leicester are turning down 70m offers for Fofana

you don't get Neymar for 100m

a new Neymar today costs you 200+ especially if all the oil clubs want him

The biggest difference though is that Cucerella is class, and stood out massively at Brighton last year. He'd look great wherever he goes.

Anthony however has looked okay but not amazing in a defensively bad Dutch league. You spend £80m on him and you're not getting guaranteed quality, much like it was with Sancho. The price needs to reflect the massive league disparity and the risk a player like Anthony has.

Also Gibbs White was a base of £25m. Chelsea are trying to overpay on defenders due to losing Rudiger and Christensen.

 

[sglowrider]

I just hope if he comes he can keep going while we add more next season and fans don't start calling him a flop.

At 100million, the expectations will be sky high. You expect a ready-made player at that price and instant impact.
I guarantee that people will be making comparisons like this one player costs more than the entire XXX club's transfer investment.

 

[WPMUFC]

"100m is the new going rate, it is what it is, look at what X player went for"

They fecking set it at 100m so we would feck off and allow them to start pre-season with no more sales and the new manager didn't have a completely wiped out team. We've gone back in because we have lost our minds and now think we just have to buy players no matter the price because the club is facing a shit storm of pre-fergie proportions.

The fee was not 100m 1-2 months ago FFS. Stop re-writing history. He looks like a great prospect talent, but our club is lurching from one deal to another like they are tweaking on meth. We rightly did not see the value when they briefed a "feck off price" but now we are looking at 3 losses we will just pay anything? How does this potentially 20-30 million increase affect our ability to get other players? Are we now going to have to look at a shit cheap RB or ST because the panic buy of Antony means we don't have the funds to buy an upgrade in those positions? We've keep doing this year-on-year and Arnold was right, we've pissed a billion up a wall and have NOTHING to show for it. How is copying the same gameplan for the last 5-7 years changing anything?

 

[devilish]

It's a huge risk but also Ajax need to keep some players for their league and CL and it's late in the window. United are getting desperate for some life in attack so these factors bump up the price as well and I'm not sure he's enough.

Close to double Inflated price tags come with big expectations from fans that players can't deliver on as we've seen with Maguire and Pogba. Even if he is good it will need a very focused Ronaldo or other striker to finish it off. There's always a chance we can get some form out of the players we have but it's looking very bleak with form or injuries. I just hope if he comes he can keep going while we add more next season and fans don't start calling him a flop.

Ajax had already signed Conceição and Bergwijn. They'll probably be able to sign Ziyech on the cheap as well. So that argument is a bit BS tbh. The reason Ajax are acting that way is because they know that our mess of a club is relying solely on ETH's limited list of players. Thus they can afford taking us to the cleaners.

 

[Tarrou]

Fair enough but I don't think using Neymar examples is meaningful here. Neymar was a very special generational talent during his early years, a Brazilian golden boy and destined to be the next L.Ronaldo or Ronaldinho or even Pele. Remember the time when people are comparing him with Mess and Ronaldo during his peak years. He is really something back then.

At current market, only Mbappe is comparable to him. But even so, I think Neymar during his younger peak is easily better player than Mbappe.

If we go back to Antony case, we should compare him with the likes of Raphinha (at Leeds) or Diaz (at Porto), who only went for 40-50m.

the poster wasn't comparing him to Neymar, he was just using the value comparison to show that he's overpriced

but anyway, I think we're all in agreement he's overpriced, the question really is by how much..

I would say 55/60m is a fair price, but we're late in the window and desperate.. and I think we'll end up at 80m + 20m add-ons or something.. once again just really really poor planning from us

 

[reelworld]

To those complaining about the price: It's a seller market. Every transfer is different because they have different circumstances.
Antony would deserve 100m price tag because that's what Ajax values him.
We don't have any leverage due to time and out bad options on the wings. I don't really care if he cost 10m or 100m.
His potential to solve many of our issues and his familiarity with EtH system would means we could solve our right wing issue for many years. And that makes him worth the price

 

[RedRonaldo]

It's a huge risk but also Ajax need to keep some players for their league and CL and it's late in the window. United are getting desperate for some life in attack so these factors bump up the price as well and I'm not sure he's enough.

Close to double Inflated price tags come with big expectations from fans that players can't deliver on as we've seen with Maguire and Pogba. Even if he is good it will need a very focused Ronaldo or other striker to finish it off. There's always a chance we can get some form out of the players we have but it's looking very bleak with form or injuries. I just hope if he comes he can keep going while we add more next season and fans don't start calling him a flop.

We can loan them some players if they need it. Many avg/underwhelming PL players would usually do quite well in their league.

They can loan Elanga and Diallo from us.

 

[Idxomer]

The biggest difference though is that Cucerella is class, and stood out massively at Brighton last year. He'd look great wherever he goes.

Anthony however has looked okay but not amazing in a defensively bad Dutch league. You spend £80m on him and you're not getting guaranteed quality, much like it was with Sancho. The price needs to reflect the massive league disparity and the risk a player like Anthony has.

Also Gibbs White was a base of £25m. Chelsea are trying to overpay on defenders due to losing Rudiger and Christensen.

And United are overpaying for a forward because they lost an asset they thought was worth 100m.

 

[RedRonaldo]

the poster wasn't comparing him to Neymar, he was just using the value comparison to show that he's overpriced

but anyway, I think we're all in agreement he's overpriced, the question really is by how much..

I would say 55/60m is a fair price, but we're late in the window and desperate.. and I think we'll end up at 80m + 20m add-ons or something.. once again just really really poor planning from us

I would say £60m+15m add-ons (€70m+17m euros) is absolutely the most we could offer at this late stage. Maybe also loan them Elanga or Diallo as complimentary gesture, if thats what the manager really wants.

I personally wouldn't go more than £60m.

 

[Rojofiam]

The biggest difference though is that Cucerella is class, and stood out massively at Brighton last year. He'd look great wherever he goes.

Anthony however has looked okay but not amazing in a defensively bad Dutch league. You spend £80m on him and you're not getting guaranteed quality, much like it was with Sancho. The price needs to reflect the massive league disparity and the risk a player like Anthony has.

Also Gibbs White was a base of £25m. Chelsea are trying to overpay on defenders due to losing Rudiger and Christensen.

You can't compare Sancho and Antony. Sancho was putting up exceptional numbers since 18 years old in a better league. He's a top class player. Antony on the other hand would indeed be a huge gamble.

 

[Judas]

He's a risk. I'm also a bit worried because we look like we're spending this much on him when we've still got holes in the side that are in critical need.

But I love this type of player, so it's a very exciting prospect.

 

[RaddyRed]

That's the point. The EPL reminds alot of the Serie A of the 80s and 90s. Back then it was normal for top quality players like Bergkamp, Rush and Pancev to go there and make a total fool of themselves. Meanwhile washed up Serie A players like Vialli or glorified donkeys like Ravanelli would go in the much weaker EPL and absolutely own it. I am not suggesting that we shouldn't buy players from weaker leagues. There were players from unknown leagues who did extremely well in the Serie A of that time and there will be players in similar circumstances who would take the EPL by surprise. However as the EPL gets tougher one need to brace himself that the failure rate will go up. Therefore the fee should reflect that.

Bit harsh on Ravanelli and Vialli from memory. Their last seasons in Serie A before moving were decent enough weren't they?

 

[WPMUFC]

Can't believe this has to be re-posted, people re-writing history just to feel comfortable being bent over the barrel.

 

[Adisa]

It's like some posters feel personally impacted by the concept of the club overpaying.
Should we sign a lesser player just so you don't feel embarrassed?
The most important bit here is the club is getting a priority target. From all indications, even if we sign him, he will certainly not be our last signing.
I think you guys care too much about what we pay.

 

[devilish]

Bit harsh on Ravanelli and Vialli from memory. Their last seasons in Serie A before moving were decent enough weren't they?

Vialli was already old by the time he went to the EPL. Ravanelli provided the legs in Juve forward line. It's the reason why once they allowed the former to leave they got rid of the latter as well

 

[Wezzaldo]

I think it was written earlier on in the window, but Ajax are having to tread a very fine line.

The reason they get so much is talent is they are viewed historically as a pathway into European football. If they suddenly stop allowing the players to make the moves to bigger clubs, they may be in danger of these prospects declining to come in the future, completely wrecking their business model.

It’s for this reason I think it’s a matter of time.

 

[WPMUFC]

It's like some posters feel personally impacted by the concept of the club overpaying.
Should we sign a lesser player just so you don't feel embarrassed?
The most important bit here is the club is getting a priority target. From all indications, even if we sign him, he will certainly not be our last signing.
I think you guys care too much about what we pay.

So having negotiations on lower fee months ago, then walking away because they jacked the price to stop all their talent leaving, and now coming back to pay the jacked up fee because we're about to lose 3 games on the bounce fixes "pissing a billion up the wall with nothing to show for it", how exactly? How does it fix the culture of stupidity? This is a prime-woodward move and now we're happy with it?