Manchester United flop Antony isn’t about to become a resurgent force as a right wing-back, according to a club hero who once made that very position his own. Wes Brown started United’s 2008 Champions League final win over Chelsea, and also won another European crown as well as seven Premier League titles during his 15-year stint at Old Trafford.
And the 45-year-old was an interested spectator on Tuesday morning as new manger Ruben Amorim took his first training session at the club, immediately implementing his renowned 3-4-3 formation in a conditioned match.
It was the involvement of the Brazilian than undoubtedly drew the most attention, with the £80m signing deployed in an unfamiliar defensive role.
But speaking on behalf of William Hill, Brown rubbished any suggestion that Amorim’s training selection was part of a long-term-plan. And he smiled when explaining why he was sure the experiment was little more than a temporary one.
“I think it could be messy with him there, so I don’t know about that,” he told Express Sport. “That probably won’t happen to be honest. It’s more him getting you the idea of where he wants players to be at the moment.”
Brown’s comments come amid reports that United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe has sanctioned a possible swap deal for the ex-Ajax winger in January. Speculation is rife that 17-year-old forward Geovany Quenda will follow Amorim from Sporting CP, with Antony potentially heading in the opposite direction.
Despite winning a League Cup and FA Cup with the Red Devils, club bosses appear to have finally lost patience with the 24-year-old. Form and fitness struggles have limited him to just two Premier League appearances this season, and his on-field behaviour and attitude has regularly been criticised by fans and pundits.
A number of United’s leading players were absent from Amorim’s first session, due to being away on international duty. It means the new man is likely to field a very different line-up when his team go to Ipswich on Sunday, and Brown is not reading much into the early signals.
“We obviously knows he plays a different formation,” he added. “I saw some clips from the training session Tuesday morning, obviously it looked good, the cones were out and it looks like people were put in certain positions.
“The only thing I will say about that is, and we had this at Sunderland whenever we had a different manager, the first session is more the idea. But yeah he’s obviously going to come in and change the formation.”
Brown however, did back Amorim to become a success in England. And regardless of Antony’s future, he expects the manager to stick to his guns from the off. “When the players understand the positions, the ideas, and where he wants them defensively, then he’ll be happy and I’m sure that’s what he will be trying to get into them,” he added.