Stam: Antony can step up a gear
Treble-winner Jaap Stam says he is excited to see if Antony can show his true quality during his second season at Manchester United.
The Dutchman saw plenty of the Brazil international during his time in the Eredivisie and feels there is much more to come from a fellow former Ajax man.
With a season of acclimatising to the Premier League under his belt, albeit ending in disappointment when he was forced to miss the Emirates FA Cup final due to injury, Antony will be eager to become a key figure for Erik ten Hag, starting in the campaign opener against Wolves on 14 August.
The winger came off the bench in our latest Tour 2023 game, the 2-0 defeat to Real Madrid, and had a couple of shots that flew off target as the Reds chased an equaliser until Joselu's acrobatic late clincher.
Ahead of the next chance for the South American to impress in another live MUTV clash, against Borussia Dortmund (Monday, 02:00 BST), Stam was in no doubt that there is more to come from the skilful wide man.
"You know Antony's got quality, of course, on the ball," Stam told us. "He's got decent pace, even if he's not lightning. He needs to become, and I know we were talking about being predictable in a way of playing, then he needs to step up a gear to make a change.
"As a winger, you always need to be very decisive. You need to take initiative on the ball. You need to go forward. You need to take on your one-v-ones and you need to make it difficult for your opposition by, one time, going inside and, the other time, going outside.
"Of course, that's the thing that I think he still needs to do a little bit more," said Stam. "But we know him from Holland as well. We know his ability and his quality. And I think he can step up, you know, one or two gears.
"So he needs to show that this season. He had last season as well to get adjusted to the league and to get adjusted to the opposition he's facing as well.
"So it is going to be exciting to see how he's going to be changing his game next season."
Antony is expected to be involved against Dortmund, before the squad returns to base ahead of next weekend's double-header with Lens and Athletic Club.