Thread by @htomufc

Antony to Manchester United…

Thread 🧵

Disclaimer, I will *only* be focusing on the footballing side of this transfer because a lot has been made of the fee and I do agree that it’s a massive overpayment but the sum of money doesn’t change the players quality nor my opinion on the player.

Antony’s dribbling is some of the best in Europe when it comes to volume per 90 and successful dribble %. The ball sticks to his feet and his overall decision making in the action is brilliant. He has the perfect balance of a top tier dribbler.

His tendency to come inside on his left foot rather than having the ability to take it to the line and cross with his right foot, is a weakness. He is quite one dimensional in that sense. But with runners around him it’ll make defenders jobs much harder.

Antony is a very creative player. However, like Sancho, he thrives with runners around him, not only to link play with them, but to drag markers and create space and effectively unlock blocks. Overlapping FBs was ETH’s way of getting runners around Antony.

Retention is something you might not think about when you mention Antony’s profile but overall his decision making and retention is excellent. He likes to facilitate the runners off him but can also spray the ball to the other side and exploit space.

The switch of play is a really nice tool that Antony has, often likes to drag markers over with him into the inside of the pitch and with runners around him he has options to cross, switch or pass to the runner, all of which he can do to a good level.

Crossing is one of Antony’s best tools for me. His delivery, especially into the 6-yard-box, is great. Not only is he a high volume crosser but his execution and striking of crosses is very good. But can improve when it comes to deeper/longer crosses.

Does Antony have explosiveness and burst? I am going to say, yes. Sancho-CF-Antony as a front three would mean you would need a winger with explosiveness to get beyond the last line and I think Antony, with runners around him, is that guy.

Defensively, Antony is not bad but it’s not one of his strengths. He can get overly aggressive and inpatient often leading to pointless free-kicks being given away. But his tenacious and nippy profile seems tailor made for a pressing winger profile.

Positionally and balance wise, Antony will help Manchester United so much. Despite being a touchline winger he holds the width so well, and this is something we’ve lacked for ages. He’s similar to a Mahrez when it comes to his overall positioning and profile.

Have a winger who can hold the width is extremely important for these ‘total footballing’ inspired coaches. Wider wingers means more pockets of space between the fullbacks and the centre backs which can be exploited by the No.8s. They are VITAL for ETH.

Personnel around Antony is worrying at the moment. He has thrived in past seasons with a high energy overlapping fullback so he can have the freedom to come inside on his left foot and I don’t know if Dalot or AWB will provide that.

Overall, Antony is a phenomenal prospect and the perfect modern winger for EtH. His technical skillset is already well refined. Output will come with time, he’s a really creative player and with runners around him he will only get better.

Thank you for reading if you've got this far. I am not an analyst or anything of the sorts these are just my opinions and takeaways having watched a lot of Antony of the past months. I hope you enjoyed, thank you! ♥️

#GlazersOut

Despite being an inverted winger* ffs.