Manchester United agreed to a record £100 transfer fee with Ajax for Brazilian winger Antony. The Brazilian was in Manchester on Monday for his medical to complete his move.
As one of the top talents in Europe and the world, the 22-year-old is expected to bring dynamism to the Manchester United attack.
However, Manchester United Legend Rio Ferdinand had warned that the Brazilian international could suffer the same fate as Jack Grealish, as the former Aston Villa attacker has struggled to live up to the pressure of being a £100 million player.
What did Rio Ferdinand say?
Rio Ferdinand admitted that despite his high talent and potential, he hopes the Brazilian international is not weighed down by his price tag like Jack Grealish, saying: “Antony is coming in at roughly around £100million and you hope that doesn’t weigh heavily on his neck because you look at Grealish last year, he wasn’t the same Grealish that played at Aston Villa so it can weigh heavily.
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“Now he [Grealish] won the league last season, so he’s happy, so it doesn’t matter, but you see it sometimes when players come in under big transfer fees, they don’t play with the freedom that they had before and that can be down to a couple of things.
“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.
“People forget as well. You’re spending that money on Antony. He’s not the finished article. He’s still young. 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 game.”
Antony is expected to be ready for selection when Manchester United faces Leicester City on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Rio Ferdinand has a message to Chelsea target Anthony Gordon.
According to the Manchester United Legend, the England international could get his wish of signing for Chelsea if he could tell Frank Lampard he wants to leave.
Rio Ferdinand said when asked if Anthony Gordon is worth £60 million: “Is he worth that? Probably not right now.
“Could he eventually be worth £60m? Potentially, he has the chance to do that. This kid is the crown jewel at Everton at the moment.
“They don’t want to see him go because of what that will do for the morale of the football club and the fans in the stadium.
“It’s difficult but if he wants to go, he’s got to go in and show the balls to go to the manager and the chairman and say ‘I want to leave and see how they deal with that.”
