Rio Ferdinand makes concerning admission over Man Utd star Antony
Rio Ferdinand has questioned whether Antony has the power to become a complete Premier League forward in the wake of his improved performance against Nottingham Forest.
The Manchester United winger has had plenty of critics since completing his £85.5million switch to Old Trafford last summer, with many critiquing the Brazilian's output and an over-reliance on his favoured left foot.
Antony, 23, endured a difficult maiden campaign at United where he registered 10 goals and five assists in all competitions. And although Ferdinand was encouraged by some of the things he saw in the 3-2 win over Forest, he still has concerns over the former Ajax star.
Speaking on his FIVE YouTube channel, Ferdinand said of Antony's wing play: “He’s getting the ball 1v1 so many times in the game and as a fan you’re thinking: ‘Beat him, man’.
“He did it once this weekend where he took it on his right foot on the outside and crossed it and created a chance, and I was thinking: ‘So you can do it’. I want to see it more.”
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He added: “The power, I don’t see it, I don’t think he has the power in his body at the moment so I’d like think he’s working on his power, his explosiveness; I think if he can add that to his game we will see him improve again. I want output, I want chances created, I want the fullbacks coming off the pitch… hurting.”
Join the debate! What did you make of Antony's performance vs Nottingham Forest? Let us know here.
Rio Ferdinand still wants to see more from Antony (FIVE YouTube)While Antony has caught the eye in patches since swapping Amsterdam for Manchester, the forward has even been challenged by his own manager to make further improvements. Speaking back in April, Erik ten Hag made it clear that he felt there was more to come from the winger.
Ten Hag said previously: “I defended [Antony]. He knows, I know as well, when you are a forward, you need end product. But already he had quite a lot of end product, he scored in all competitions now, eight goals, first year at United is not bad and still games to go.
“But he has to do it. I can’t say in every game, but many games if you want to be a top-class player and especially in all the competitions. In the Premier League, there are a lot of quality defenders and you have to act on a really high level.
“It is a lot about scanning, taking the right decision. There is only a split moment where you have to take that decision.”
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