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

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Rozay

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This is my issue with this signing. He rather predictably cuts inside and either plays a reverse pass or looks to shoot.

In other news, how have Dortmund got Haller for 31m Euros? We should not pay a penny over £40m for Anthony, seriously.
He goes past his full back plenty. In fact, regularly.
 

MUFC OK

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He goes past his full back plenty. In fact, regularly.
Doesn't excite me much from what I've seen, all frills and limited output. His numbers in the Eredivisie are no way near Memphis for example, and he wasn't clinical enough for us.
Bargain and ties in with what Custis was saying.
Is it? Haller in his prime going for around £26m, Raphinha who is premier league proven going for around £50m. £40m is the absolute max we should be paying.
 

Conor

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He looks really good, but it also seems like Raphinha is just a PL proven version of him, available for a similar price.
 

Adam-Utd

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He looks really good, but it also seems like Raphinha is just a PL proven version of him, available for a similar price.
For £50m I'd much rather go with the proven option.
Raphinha is excellent but I don't think Leeds would want to sell him to us, and I don't think he'd choose us for the same reasons.

Anthony should be cheaper and just as exciting, he looks to work very hard also. I think he'd be a fine choice.
 

Ali Dia

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You shouldn't be disappointed because the plan should be clearer in the next summer window. And that's because the two chief scouts have gone and along with them their work, which would've been collated/compiled for the current window. Dominic Jordan has also just started his role in March this year to lead the data analytics department, which will also hopefully contribute to both our on the pitch performance and to back-up the scouting of players.
Excuse the long post!

I’ve been a fan of the Brazilian and championed his signing since he came on the scene based mostly on the idea he’s unpredictable, entertaining in the CL and a bit of a nutter. I think he and Chiesa would still be my dream wingers if I was designing an attack. Sancho would be right there too. To me that’s very exciting recruitment. Nice one United

On paper FDJ also looks like a player we could desperately need. He could be a transformative kind of signing but I think he’ll just be alright for some reason. So another yes from me. He’s currently the best we can get. Apart from that if Timber doesn’t want to come then just leave Ajax be.

To be safe we should definitely try and mix it up a little, it probably doesn’t take a data dept to see how hard it can be for even top players from the Dutch league to quickly impose themselves here and elsewhere, whereas more recently players from Portugal Germany and France can do really well in the PL and a with a few exceptions for pretty reasonable money.

I hope we aren’t making one of those Barca going Dutch mistakes and it somehow costing ETH momentum and possibly even his job next season but I’m probably being melodramatic when I mention the sack. I think the board will probably stick with ETH over the players for this season unless we are in a relegation battle or something.

I don’t expect anything but obviously it clicking and us getting Top 4 would be very nice. Will the Ajax lads get on with everyone else? If things start going south will the remaining superstar wage players pretend to get into it enough? Surely they can’t throw ETH and his Ajax players and coaches under the bus too can they?

Regarding the data setup I’m looking forward to hopefully one day again seeing the football side of us being run in a much more responsible and proactive manner. Keep the talent moving much faster at first team level until it clicks again. Sell players while their value is still as high as possible and their wages are still low. we are still a major brand that everyone follows and we should be making a huge revenue stream from buying and selling players. we should always have a conveyor belt of talent and to not settle or be forced to massively overpay until we find the very best again. It doesn’t need to be only wait until they are 100 million euro players… the next big player is always there for the taking if you’re run by smart people who understand the market and know how to get in early and sell it well.

I’m very happy with the youth. It’s been almost totally revamped and it’s producing again. If the first team can kick on in the same kind of way that would be a big positive for sure.
 

mu4c_20le

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For £50m I'd much rather go with the proven option.
He's only more proven in the PL. One could argue that he won't improve much more, if at all. Also, both Liverpool and Barca looked at him and decided against a move, so there's that.
 

Tommy79

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For £50m I'd much rather go with the proven option.
Oh, if life was just so simple like that. As just because they have proven themselves at one club does not mean they will thrive here, as just a couple of my head, Torres, wow at the numbers hit for Liverpool, damn who's this guy after he went to Chelsea and Robbie keane was also a failure there unlike at Spurs and the best cases of us I can think of, Gary Birtles back to back EC/CL winner and regular goalscorer at Forrest, utter failure here and for the younger fans, we all remember Sanchez's numbers at Arsenal and what he didn't do here, or even Mata to a degree compared to what we saw him do at Chelsea.
 

MUFC OK

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Raphinha is terrible in possession though. Gives the ball away plenty in careless passing. Antony is more careful in possession and better at link up play.
Antony actually only played 21/34 league games last season, was he injured for a period?
 

MUFC OK

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He's only more proven in the PL. One could argue that he won't improve much more, if at all. Also, both Liverpool and Barca looked at him and decided against a move, so there's that.
That's a silly argument considering we play in the PL and aren't in the CL currently :lol:
 

Daslogisch

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This is my issue with this signing. He rather predictably cuts inside and either plays a reverse pass or looks to shoot.

In other news, how have Dortmund got Haller for 31m Euros? We should not pay a penny over £40m for Anthony, seriously.
31m (+4 in bonuses) is also considered a little bit on the low side by Ajax fans. However situation is completely different. Haller is 28 and has his limitations as was already proven in PL. Haller did fantastic in CL but has been less consistent in the league and although he's done pretty well in the league his limitations were also visible. If Haller suffers a loss in form, which with his limitations, is not unthinkable then his value will drop considerably. Moreover, Haller is not irreplaceable or a rare talent for example.

Antony on the other hand is just 22, on the verge of international break through, a serious chance of making an impact on the WC and he is a rare talent. Ajax can't easily replace him and he has a 3 year contract left.

Tier 1 Ajax journalists have already confirmed in the beginning of the week that Alvarez and Haller are the only players that could still leave on a reasonable fee. Other players are only leaving for exceptional fees. An exceptional fee for Antony is more in the £60-65m region.
 

MUFC OK

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31m (+4 in bonuses) is also considered a little bit on the low side by Ajax fans. However situation is completely different. Haller is 28 and has his limitations as was already proven in PL. Haller did fantastic in CL but has been less consistent in the league and although he's done pretty well in the league his limitations were also visible. If Haller suffers a loss in form, which with his limitations, is not unthinkable then his value will drop considerably. Moreover, Haller is not irreplaceable or a rare talent for example.

Antony on the other hand is just 22, on the verge of international break through, a serious chance of making an impact on the WC and he is a rare talent. Ajax can't easily replace him and he has a 3 year contract left.

Tier 1 Ajax journalists have already confirmed in the beginning of the week that Alvarez and Haller are the only players that could still leave on a reasonable fee. Other players are only leaving for exceptional fees. An exceptional fee for Antony is more in the £60-65m region.
With due respect from our perspective, we signed Memphis from Eredivisie at a similar age to Antony who had stats that dwarf his output - a 28 goal season. Memphis didnt make the grade at United so there is no way we should be spending excessively on Antony.

On Haller, depends how you spin it - 28 year old is coming into his prime for a striker, was almost top scorer in the CL and Dortmund badly needed a Haaland replacement. Ajax should have got a lot more for him, bad deal for them.
 

Rozay

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Doesn't excite me much from what I've seen, all frills and limited output. His numbers in the Eredivisie are no way near Memphis for example, and he wasn't clinical enough for us.

Is it? Haller in his prime going for around £26m, Raphinha who is premier league proven going for around £50m. £40m is the absolute max we should be paying.
Of course, that is your right. I am simply letting you know that he can beat a full back.

Also, regarding numbers, nobody scores 20 goals until they score 20 goals. Ultimately, the game is about studying a player and deciding whether you believe he has the capability to do so. We’d have demanded £80m+ for Greenwood at any point over the past few seasons, not because he has actually scored 20 a year, but because there is compelling evidence that at some point, he will do. If we were pricing him based upon the 10 goal forward he actually was, then he’d be worth half. I’m a big fan of Felix for example, and I look at him as. 20+ goal striker, although he hasn’t done it yet. I just look at him and see the qualities of one.

Antony has talent and youth. At his age, the £40-£50m is a speculative price. It isn’t the price of a 20 goal Antony, and it’s for us to decide whether the gamble is worth it. Ans ETH would be qualified to make that call.
 

StonedhamsterZA

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With due respect from our perspective, we signed Memphis from Eredivisie at a similar age to Antony who had stats that dwarf his output - a 28 goal season. Memphis didnt make the grade at United so there is no way we should be spending excessively on Antony.

On Haller, depends how you spin it - 28 year old is coming into his prime for a striker, was almost top scorer in the CL and Dortmund badly needed a Haaland replacement. Ajax should have got a lot more for him, bad deal for them.
I agree with the sentiment but I’d also like to see how Memphis would have done with a proper coach and some time. Since us he’s bounced around and couldn’t really kick on too well. Still a missed opportunity for me.
 

MUFC OK

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Antony has talent and youth. At his age, the £40-£50m is a speculative price. It isn’t the price of a 20 goal Antony, and it’s for us to decide whether the gamble is worth it. Ans ETH would be qualified to make that call.
I absolutely back ETH's decisions moving forward as regards signings. We know a left footed winger is key to his preferred shape. I think my only concern is that the United tax doesn't seem to be going away any time soon. Seeing prices of 50-60m for what is essentially a gamble when his teammates are leaving for reasonable fees just doesn't sit right with me.

I cant see the club going past £50m for him either to be fair.
 

JJ12

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He has so much talent but appears to miss that killer instinct. Ronaldo - although younger and much more talented - was like that at first so we know that things can evolve in that regard. ETH probably feels that he can still improve there.
 

Daslogisch

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With due respect from our perspective, we signed Memphis from Eredivisie at a similar age to Antony who had stats that dwarf his output - a 28 goal season. Memphis didnt make the grade at United so there is no way we should be spending excessively on Antony.

On Haller, depends how you spin it - 28 year old is coming into his prime for a striker, was almost top scorer in the CL and Dortmund badly needed a Haaland replacement. Ajax should have got a lot more for him, bad deal for them.
I understand your position, but you have also bought a bang average defender for £80m because he was suppose to be proven in EPL. The times that you can land top Eredivisie players/prospects for £20/30m are long gone.

I agree Dortmund got the better deal, but as I said Ajax also couldnt risk that the deal fell through. Dortmund also just got €80m for Haaland because of the release clause. For Ajax this was the perfect moment to cash in on Haller and Ajax was not willing to take the chance that the hype around him goes away next year as that would mean his value would decrease significantly.
 

Bojan Djordjic

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Looks like a bit of a showman type player who rarely goes on the outside of his man. Would need a very good attacking fullback for that to work and he might be a bit predictable for the PL, but he’s young.
Surely it can't be that difficult to just get Dalot to provide an overlap. I mean if EtH is coaching it in each session it's just something that he will have to do. It's not like these lads have physical limitations that prevent them. With AWB I can see that he's just terrified that he will make a mistake on the ball but Dalot is reasonably technical and he only really needs to provide the threat of providing a cross rather than a cross itself.

Would have thought these are the specific strengths that EtH can provide to the team. Off the ball movement has been one of Ajax's unique selling points since he's been in charge and even Donny has excellent off the ball movement.
 

Mr PG

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Most fans making similar mistakes to the past managers. Getting carried away with a few skills show here n there. Most fans clamouring for Antony and Timber haven't watched them in a full game. There's a reason no other team is in for them and their price is that low. We really don't need any more wingers right now and need to strengthen other areas first. We need top class defenders/ fullbacks in addition to a top DM or CM.
 

Red Daz

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I’m excited by this guy, I miss exciting players who get you off your seat, he’ll probably be as frustrating as exciting for a while but we used to take a chance on these types, about time we did again
 

Posh Red

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Most fans making similar mistakes to the past managers. Getting carried away with a few skills show here n there. Most fans clamouring for Antony and Timber haven't watched them in a full game. There's a reason no other team is in for them and their price is that low. We really don't need any more wingers right now and need to strengthen other areas first. We need top class defenders/ fullbacks in addition to a top DM or CM.
Ten Hag seems keen. I think he may have seen some full matches.
 

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Here lies the thread of a man that, if he were to join City, would look as if hes one of the best in the league.
 

DJ_21

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I’d prefer Antony over raphinha to be honest, I know a lot of people are opting for raphinha just because he’s PL proven but so what… for the same price I’d rather have the younger player, and Antony knows ten hags system and style of play so I think that out does the PL proven part.
 

Mr PG

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Antony gives the ball away quite a bit and he's not strong enough. Ralf aptly pointed out our teams biggest weakness is we lack strong /athletic players. Explains why
united hasn't played well a full 90mins for the last 2 seasons. It's always a terrible first 45 while the opponent tires or a terrible second half as we run out of gas.
 

Bojan Djordjic

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From what I can see Mazraoui isn't a lot better than Dalot. He's a bit more composed, but I think Dalot has more skills. Dalot has a lot space to improve, but I'm expecting a lot of players to improve.
Couldn't disagree more. Mazraoui stood out to me even more than Antony in that video vs Liverpool. Don't know how there was no links with him to us. He would have been perfect for that right back role and would have cost nothing but wages.
 

mu4c_20le

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Antony gives the ball away quite a bit and he's not strong enough. Ralf aptly pointed out our teams biggest weakness is we lack strong /athletic players.
The flaw with that logic is that Ralf himself was one of the biggest weaknesses
 

Remember the geese

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Antony gives the ball away quite a bit and he's not strong enough. Ralf aptly pointed out our teams biggest weakness is we lack strong /athletic players. Explains why
united hasn't played well a full 90mins for the last 2 seasons. It's always a terrible first 45 while the opponent tires or a terrible second half as we run out of gas.
Ralf used the word "physicality" a lot. He didn't just mean physical strength. By all accounts, Antony has good work rate and would have fitted the template that Ralf was looking for. He often praised Elanga for his physicality.
 
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