Antony takes the last step

Antony is already a reality. After arriving as a promise at Ajax in the summer of 2020, he had a first season to attract attention and in this second one it has definitely exploded. In between, a gold medal in Tokyo.

This week two transfer rumors have come out. The first, ensuring that Ten Hag wants to take it wherever he goes, assuming that the coach will sign for Manchester United. The second, reporting that PSG has asked about the Brazilian. As AS has learned, and although his environment is reluctant to give names, he is listening to offers from the biggest clubs in Europe, including Spanish calls.

His figures are not outrageous (12 goals and 10 assists), but his feelings are. The discordant piece in an attack front that is too flat on many occasions. The tie against Benfica was a good example of this. While Berghuis and Tadic are the ones who create the occasion for the others, Antony creates it for himself. In fact, he recently received criticism for his insistence on always repeating the same play, crossing the front to look for the shot to the farthest post. His reasons are, there are not a few goals that he has scored in such a way. But the goal of the classic on the 20th did not come like that, when he scored the final 3-2 against Feyenoord in the 86th minute.

This national team break has made him take the next step, perhaps the definitive one to show that he is ready to compete in the big leagues. With Martinelli, Rodrygo and other midfielders that he had in his call, Tite has chosen him in both games as a starter on the right wing. Against Chile he not only stole the ball and assisted Vinicius in the second goal, but also caused the third penalty.

In November 2020, he spoke with AS and explained why he had managed to adapt so quickly to Europe. “When I arrived, I went through a change of mentality, where the goal is the most important thing. In Brazil I defended my pair more and I couldn’t go up that much ”, he admitted after commenting that, during the quarantine, he had been rehearsing the shot with his right leg and the header.

The variables made him reach a price of €21,750,000, a figure that the club has not regretted at any time. Fans didn’t have time to miss Ziyech. Now its value could be around double what was paid for it and everything indicates that Ajax will accept the departure of one of the most attractive players on the 2022 market.