Ex-Man Utd star names TEN flops Erik ten Hag must sell in huge summer transfer clearout including £85m buy Antony
MANCHESTER UNITED must sell TEN flops in a massive summer clearout, according to Paul Parker.
And one of the main names on the chopping block is £85million new signing Antony.
Erik ten Hag has helped revitalise the sleeping giant since taking over in the summer.
He ended the six-year wait for a trophy by leading United to the Carabao Cup and still has ambitions of FA Cup and Europa League glory, as well as qualifying for the Champions League.
But despite nine arrivals – signed or loaned – and nine first-team players sold or released, Parker insists there is still plenty of work to be done in the transfer market.
Parker said: “I would say that ten players from the current squad need to leave Manchester United this season.
“Diogo Dalot, Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire, Scott McTominay, Donny van de Beek, Anthony Elanga, Wout Weghorst, Anthony Martial, Jadon Sancho and Antony all have to leave the club.
“And then we can always talk about players like Phil Jones, Eric Bailly and so on who don’t have a future at the club but they are quite obvious.
“Antony… I can see the reason why Erik ten Hag brought him in. He knew him very well and he knows that he works hard. He can trust him.
“But I just don’t see him having the opportunity to make himself a regular player at United.
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“There are a lot of better players out there that are way cheaper than him.
“And I don´t believe that he can pay back in performance what Manchester United paid for him.”
“I really don’t see him occupying that right-hand side.
“United need a player that can perform consistently and I don’t think they will ever get that from him.”
Antony arrived with much fanfare after a summer-long tussle with Ajax, before splashing out a mammoth fee for the Brazilian.
But despite glimpses of quality, he is yet to close anywhere close to justifying his price tag, contributing seven goals and one assist in 30 appearances.
He has not been involved in a Premier League goal since October 9, when he scored for the third game running against Everton.
Dalot appears to be back behind Aaron Wan-Bissaka in the pecking order while Lindelof and Maguire are often overlooked for Luke Shaw to play at centre-back.
‘LINDELOF MADE A SCAPEGOAT’
Casemiro improved the midfield and Ten Hag may think he can improve on McTominay and Van de Beek.
While in attack, Marcus Rashford is the star man with Elanga, Martial, Weghort, Sancho and Antony unable to contribute effectively.
Parker, though, thinks Lindelof has been given a bit of a hard time.
He added to Bettors: “A lot of the names that I mentioned are obvious because they are not playing and the want to play regularly.
“But I want to elaborate why I think that Victor Lindelof should leave, because I actually like him as a player
“Lindelof is a great player and he deserves to play every week but it’s not going to be at United as Erik ten Hag doesn’t seem to fancy him.
“He has been made the scapegoat by a lot of fans and the media as well. But he has a lot of qualities and he could play for a lot of good clubs.”
“He will always perform at least a seven out of ten.
“He never lets the manager down and he is the man to bring if you want a defender who you know you can trust.”
Parker’s comments echo those of Gary Neville, who claimed the Red Devils have signed just six world-class players since Sir Alex Ferguson left way back in 2013.
But the club have already drawn up a shortlist with their summer transfer targets.
Top of the pile is England captain Harry Kane, with the board giving the manager the green light to make a move.
Mason Mount, Kaoru Mitoma, Moises Caicedo and Randal Kolo Muani are also possible options.
But in order to bring the new stars in, United will need to ship out a fair chunk of the deadwood to create space in the squad.