TV pundit and former footballer, Michael Owen looks on as he speaks prior to the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Burnley FC
Michael Owen believes one Man Utd player will bounce back this season (Picture: Getty)

Michael Owen has backed Manchester United flop Antony to ‘surprise’ fans this season after an inconsistent start to life at Old Trafford.

The Brazilian arrived as one of Erik ten Hag’s marquee signings two seasons ago for an eyebrow-raising £84.8million fee but has failed to live up to the billing at United thus far.

Having scored just one Premier League goal last season, the 24-year-old faces a make-or-break season under Ten Hag this season, but Owen has backed the winger to impress in the pressure-cooker environment.

‘The signing of Antony hasn’t gone that well and as much as it looks like he isn’t the answer for United, that’s happened to that many players over the last dozen or so seasons,’ the former United striker told OLBG.

‌’Great players have come in and it hasn’t worked for them, look at Jadon Sancho who was playing so well in the seasons leading up to the transfer.

‌’It’s just a hard place to go. Even the great Cristiano Ronaldo wasn’t able to reignite Manchester United when he went back. I could go talk about dozens of great players that have arrived at United in the last 10 or 15 years that have looked average.

Antony of Manchester United in action during a first team training session at UCLA Campus
Antony faces a big season at Old Trafford (Picture: Getty)

‘Sometimes then they even go on to somewhere else and pick it up again and start doing well. I think it’s quite dangerous writing players like Antony off, even though your eyes are telling you that he doesn’t seem to have the pace required and seems to lack a little bit of confidence.

‌’It might be a tough season for him, but if Erik ten Hag can get a tune out of the team, he might start surprising you.’

Not everybody, though, is convinced that Antony has the qualities to resurrect his United career, with former Red Devils centre-back Jaap Stam insisting the Brazilian is ‘not good enough for this level’.

‘I think Antony did well in Holland and showed some quality there, but when you go to a different league and go to United with a big price tag it’s not the same,’ Stam said on William Hill podcast Up Front with Simon Jordan.

‘The club need to bring in better players. With Antony, he’s been there almost two seasons and you can’t keep saying he will come good eventually.

‘If you’re bringing in players worth that much money, they need to make a difference.

‘Of course, it’ll take a couple of games, but they need to show their quality eventually, scoring goals and getting assists.’

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