There are many aspects of Antony Matheus dos Santos that are reminiscent of Neymar Jr in his prime. From his amazing goal and assist output, to his trickery on the ball and ability to create goal-scoring chances from seemingly nowhere, Antony is widely touted to be the next Neymar Jr, along with counterpart Vinicius Jr, and is expected to lead the line to bring Brazil yet another era of success internationally. Ever since the first rumours of Ten Hag to United, rumours of Antony following him there have been floating around, and now the move looks extremely likely, with the newly appointed United manager expressing his desires to bring the talented right winger along with him. So why is Antony so sought-after and how has he become the face of the rebuild kicking off at Manchester United?
Player Profile
Name: Antony Matheus dos Santos
Age: 22
Nationality: Brazilian
Positions: RW/LW
Strengths:
Antony’s main strength is his talent on the ball, whether it be making an inch-prefect pass that gives his teammate an easy tap-in or a mazy run causing defenders to skid across the pitch pitifully, Antony can do it all. Recording staggering numbers in terms of assists and progressive carries, Antony is also adept at crossing, finishing and ball control. Antony ranks higher than most wingers in the top 5 leagues in Europe for many stats, including assists per game, shots per game and touches in the attacking third per game. Antony’s playstyle is that of an inverted winger, often cutting inside onto his preferred left foot.
The above heatmap shows this, with most of his touches coming from the right-wing or the right half-space. There is also a section of his touches coming from the corner spot, showcasing his ability to take on set-pieces and send inswinging corners using his powerful left foot. Furthermore, Antony also has a decent aerial record, winning 50% of his duels and ranking in the top 6% of wingers. One other ability that Antony possesses is his ability to read the game both offensively and defensively, recording interceptions in the top 2%.
Weaknesses
However, Antony’s main weakness is in his defensive side of the game. Antony is not a high-pressing option, having only 3.29 successful pressures per 90, ranking in the bottom 14%. This could prove to be an obstacle, especially with many high-profile forwards such as Sancho and mainly Ronaldo, who will do less work defensively. This could render United’s press ineffective as it has been over the past season and is an aspect of United’s play that they will be looking to fix given their philosophy and aims to be challenging for the title.
Comparison with Anthony Elanga
If Antony ends up moving to United, he will most likely start on the right of Ten Hag’s attack. To make a comparison with one of United’s players, I have chosen Elanga, who has played the most at right-wing under Rangnick (bar Greenwood).
So how does Antony fare against Elanga? Both players are quite similar, with both possessing silky feet and gifted with quick reactions and impressive skills. However, when comparing the two, it is clear to see that Antony’s attacking output far outshines Elanga’s. It still has to be noted that Antony plays in one of the most dominant sides in the Netherlands, whilst United has been struggling in the Premier League for the whole season. Antony produces a higher volume of shots, indicating a greater willingness and ability to get into shooting positions and finish. Antony also ranks higher than Elanga in terms of passing and shot and goal creation, and is also a better dribbler and progressive passing option, providing far more offensive threat than Elanga. However, one clear advantage Elanga has is his defensive ability. Although not renowned for it, Elanga displays a greater willingness to press opponents or drop back to help protect his defence. Such a skill could be essential when looking at targets for United’s offence and hopefully, Antony will adapt to the Premier League and improve his defensive game.
Conclusion
Overall, Antony will be an improvement upon Elanga, but his lack of defensive acumen is eye glaring and United could be making a mistake in signing a forward who will contribute to their team’s increasing laziness of the ball. United will hope that Antony will flourish once again under his former manager Ten Hag, and he can be the player that Ten Hag builds his next team around.
All data is taken from Statsbomb via FBRef and Sofascore.
Thanks for reading this piece! Feel free to comment on what I should improve on as I’m still a beginner writer!
