Manchester United significantly altered their forward line in January by moving on as many as three forwards but did not recruit a single replacement.
And Ruben Amorim is paying the price with Amad out for the season while Rasmus Hojlund’s goal drought has now crossed 15 games.
The situation at Old Trafford is so dire that the head coach has been forced to hand a debut to 17-year-old academy sensation Chido Obi in a bid to turn the tide.
On the other hand, Antony, who left to join Real Betis on loan, is enjoying a career renaissance in Seville with four goal involvements in as many games.
Antony on fire at Betis
The Brazilian had netted twice in La Liga and once in the Conference League and has already matched his tally for United from last season.
He has already spoken of how happy he is at his new home and now, Betis boss Manuel Pellegrini has also addressed his new forward’s form.
Estadio Deportivo have quoted the former Manchester City boss as saying that he does not understand why things did not work out for the ex-Ajax star at the Theatre of Dreams.
He also claimed that Antony is hell-bent on proving his critics wrong, which is a big reason for this uptick in form and all Pellegrini has asked of him is to keep things simple.
“The most important thing has been his attitude and his self-criticism. If they paid that much money for him it is because he is a player of a great level, who for reasons unknown to me was not able to perform as expected at Manchester United.
Pellegrini on Antony’s form
“It is a revenge on himself to show that he is a much more mature player. I have spoken a lot with him to make him calm, without wanting to show great things, but to keep it simple.
“He is a great player who does important things for the team, and I hope he continues at that level until the end of the season because he will help us a lot.”
Betis do not have a buy option in their loan agreement and the player is expected to return to Manchester next summer. And while his form at the Benito Villamarín Stadium might have made Amorim look stupid, INEOS will be very pleased.
The player’s market value is on the rise and they can sell him for a much higher fee in the summer with lots of clubs reportedly looking at the 24-year-old.
Antony’s displays in the Premier League have shown he cannot cut it in the English game and recouping as high a fee as possible is the best course of action for United.
Feature image Fran Santiago via Getty Images
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Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
