Ruben Amorim has emerged unscathed from the demanding follow-up to a draw at Anfield and victory at the Emirates in the FA Cup. The Premier League’s weakest team with 6 points from 20 games, was a game Amorim described as “tougher”, where the expectations were only victory. With the Amad Diallo hat-trick, United saved three points, after the game English journalists wanted to know about the way forward for the other right winger of Amorim.
Antony was on the pitch against Southampton for 45 minutes, but has been heavily linked with a loan move in January over the past month, with clubs such as Sevilla and Olympiakos being considered. In December, Amorim was also asked about the player who has had the flop label hanging around his neck for a season and a half. Then the new United manager replied that there was no problem with the technical or physical, the Brazilian simply lacked confidence.
At Friday’s press conference, Amorim is still keeping the door open for Antony. When asked directly if Antony is leaving in January, the United manager replied:
“I want to keep all my players. I’m focused on the squad I have. I don’t know what happens in this transfer window, we’ll see. But I think Antony did well against Southampton,” says Amorim.
Okay, an open-ended answer, but Amorim would hardly have used the “I think Antony did well” wording for no reason.
Antony wants and needs playing time, under Ruben Amorim’s coaching, the Brazilian can have the opportunity to build confidence and finally deliver in the United shirt. In addition, Amorim needs every man on deck in the coming months with a packed match schedule.
We suspect that Antony will stay at the post.
