Manchester United icon sends message to Antony after underwhelming first season

Manchester United icon Jaap Stam has told Antony that he must ‘step up a gear’ in his second season with the Red Devils and predicts that the winger will do so.

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The 23-year-old arrived from Ajax last summer in a wildly expensive deal worth an initial £82m, which piled pressure on the Brazilian to produce.

Antony’s first season with the club was certainly not a disaster, but neither was it a stunning success as he returned eight goals in his 44 appearances across all competitions.

Everyone connected with Manchester United will want to see more from the Brazil international in the coming campaign, Stam included, and the Dutchman reckons Antony will prove his worth.

‘You know Antony’s got quality, of course, on the ball,’ Stam told the club’s official website. ‘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, 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.’

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