Rio Ferdinand has warned that Antony may take time to make an impact at Manchester United.
The highly regarded Ajax winger is set to join United for £84.2million and there will inevitably be much focus on how he performs for Erik ten Hag’s side.
However, Ferdinand, who himself joined United from Leeds in 2002, outlined the pressure of moving to such a big club and used the example of how Jack Grealish struggled to replicate his Aston Villa form in his first season at Manchester City.
Speaking on Rio Ferdinand Presents FIVE, Ferdinand said: ‘It’s pressure. These new signings, Martinez coming in, he looks like he not got a bit of pressure on him, it’s like you haven’t seen the price tag the way he’s moving at Man. United. Antony you hope comes in at the levels he’s coming in £100million or roughly around that figure, that he comes in and that doesn’t weigh heavy on his neck.
‘You look at Grealish last year, he wasn’t the same Grealish that played at Aston Villa, so it can weigh heavy. He won the league so he’s happy so it doesn’t matter, but sometimes when players come in with the big transfer fees, they don’t play with the freedom that they had before, and that can be a couple of things.’
Ferdinand outlined that moving for such a significant fee generates a lot of pressure, while it can also take time to adapt to a new environment and culture.
He said: ‘It can be the price tag weighing heavy and the pressure and the attention of being under the spotlight, a new environment and club and culture that they’re not used to, and a team set up that they’re not used to, those three things are big things that come into play when you sign but you have to have the personality and character to deal with all that, that’s a big thing.’
Antony has frequently impressed for Ajax but Ferdinand was eager to point out that at 22 years old, the Brazil international still has much developing to do.
Ferdinand also stated that he agrees with his former team-mate Paul Scholes in that price tags shouldn’t be considered when judging a player as they are now ‘outlandish’.
He continued: ‘Antony, people forget as well, you’re spending that money on Antony and he’s not the finished article, 22 years old, so you’re buying potential really at 22 years old to go in and perform, so don’t expect that he’s going to come in and be absolutely fire from the first day.
‘Scholesy said it well the other day, you’ve got to forget the price tag nowadays because the prices are just stupid, they’re outlandish and judge them for what they are, who they are and the timing of when they’re coming to the club. Martinez is a bit more experienced and you look at Antony and you go, he’s got great potential, let’s see what he can do.’
It will be intriguing to see how Antony, who played under ten Hag at Ajax, will get on at United, although as Ferdinand alludes to he may not necessarily be an instant hit.
Antony joined Ajax from Sao Paulo in 2020 and has proceeded to make 82 appearances for the Dutch club