Antony and Gakpo increase United concerns

A few weeks ago they faced each other in the Johan Cruijff Scale, but after September 1, Antony (Ajax) and Cody Gakpo (PSV) may be teammates at Manchester United. The won match against Liverpool is another reason to make quick work of the arrival of the Eredivisie tastemakers, who will provide coach Erik ten Hag with the underlying basis for successful individual actions, dribbling and therefore (more) goals. Ten Hag will also have an extra problem, although that is probably grist to Cristiano Ronaldo’s mill.

Manchester United coach Erik ten Hag has breathing room at United again after the victory over Liverpool (2-1). The Dutch manager managed in a week to get things going again, partly by passing two of the leaders of the previous seasons (Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Maguire) for the important game against The Reds. There has always been pressure on the originally most important topper in English football, which can be compared to the competition between Ajax and Feyenoord. Pressure that Manchester United handled more skillfully than Liverpool, especially due to the predicted tactical changes in Ten Hag football. Only with the attitude that United put on the mat against the English superpower, you are not going to win in the games against the Brightons and Brentfords of the Premier League. You need Antony and Cody Gakpo for that.

Antony

The fact that the interest in Antony is most concrete has not only to do with the history between Ten Hag and the Brazilian international. That makes Manchester United, despite the club not acting in the Champions League, the main transfer candidate for strengthening the attack from the moment Ten Hag started at Old Trafford. The fact that Manchester United also managed to survive against Liverpool without extra large purchases has already tempted commentator Leo Driessen, among others, to make the comment that the millions of investments by the English superpower are not even necessary. Against Liverpool, and other big teams in the Premier League, maybe not. If you win the top players, but keep losing the games against the low-ranking teams, you could be (much) short for the desired place in the top four in the Premier League at the end of the day.

After all, it is easier for a team like Manchester United to play against Liverpool than against a team from the right-hand side. Ten Hag received many compliments for the changes in the team’s pass style. David de Gea used the long ball in the build-up, United’s midfielders followed that example by looking for one of the attackers in their passing as quickly as possible and starting a (counter) attack from that position. However, that is also only possible against Liverpool (and Manchester City and Chelsea): after all, those are the teams that in principle do not retreat to their own half when they play against Manchester United. Ten Hag could actually respond to this against Liverpool as Brighton and Brentford did in the first two games of the Premier League: by initially making it impossible for the opponent and taking advantage of the mistakes that this produces.

After all, the huge space Liverpool left between the lines and behind the defense doesn’t exist against the teams outside the top four to six. The Premier League season has 38 rounds and if you can play a maximum of ten games of ‘reaction football’ and throw it in the rest of the games on rare occasions when United do have the space to create something or completely tune the team to the most important The team’s goalscorer (Ronaldo, ed.), has been tried to the limit in previous seasons – and failed each time. The fact that United with Antony brings in a player who prefers to have the ball in his feet and from there creates a threat with his explosiveness and technique, is the main ingredient that was missing in the opening games of the season, but also against Liverpool.

Cody Gakpo

United’s attacking play only really started when Anthony Martial came in for Anthony Elanga. As a result, Marcus Rashford moved on to his ‘original’ position as a hanging left winger and the ball stability, the power and especially the peace of mind on the ball and in the choices that Rashford makes, ensured that United’s counters in the second half over more checkers. could go. It was already clear last year that Elanga is a player bursting with potential. The young Swede still plays football as a junior. This is especially apparent in his actions: the moment the winger sees the space, he starts a dribbling action. That while Rashford at the same time first checks whether there is a playback option that is less spectacular, but (much) more threatening with the desired end result (a goal) in mind.

That Manchester United now has one player on the flanks who is completely suitable for each position (Sancho, Rashford) and two players who can play on the flanks, but who actually (want to) be in the striker: Martial and Cristiano Ronaldo. As a result, United is completely missing in Ten Hag’s philosophy, a player on the wing who, based on his explosiveness and individual action, can find the space between the tightly organized lines of a defensive-minded opponent – and therefore automatically makes more use of the spaces available in the big games. In addition, United also needs a winger who always looks for the best position for himself without the ball, who remains upright in physical duels, who can make an individual action but preferably, when the game is on the left wing, is already in a scoring position. maneuvers or takes a position from which he can quickly continue the game or find room for a shot/pass in one individual action.

For example, United currently has two wing players in the base who need space for their actions. With Antony, United have in mind a player who can create the spaces in crowded areas through individual action, forcing the defending team to make a choice. Covers the opponent on United’s right wing, there is automatically more space for Gakpo. And if the PSV player has proven one thing in recent seasons, it is his goal-orientedness when a walking line can be found towards the zone of the five-meter area. So United have an explosive right winger there and a purposeful left winger who is worth almost as much without the ball as with the ball – and Rashford falls under that category, but neither does Antony, for example.

Cristiano Ronaldo

In that sense, it is skewed to put Gakpo and Antony along the same yardstick. They are two completely different types of players, who, especially in combination with each other, can provide variation in United’s attacking game. The fact that Ten Hag may have two additional attacking forces that fit seamlessly into his system at his disposal, ensuring that the main attacking force of last season is even further out of the picture at Ten Hag. Cristiano Ronaldo has been trying to force a transfer at the club for months because he wants to play the Champions League. The fact that the now 37-year-old Portuguese cannot even force a starting place (based on the injury of his mentality, that is) at a Europa League club, makes for a painful situation for United.

After all, it’s better not to have a Cristiano Ronaldo than a disgruntled Cristiano Ronaldo – and the same goes for Antony at Ajax and Gakpo at PSV. If both transfers take place after the Champions League match between PSV and Rangers, United’s attitude towards Cristiano Ronaldo will also change. The Portuguese was almost indispensable to the club last season, while the team was more than ever one when the star player had to watch from the bench. Not only that: Antony and Gakpo are also players who (can) think much more in the team interest than Ronaldo, who has been a one-man show his entire career and is used to teams being built around him instead of the philosophy from a trainer.

On a sporting level, the arrival of Antony and/or Gakpo will give trainer Ten Hag the choices he needs to also get three points out of the fire against the Brightons and Brentfords of this world. A world-class balance keeper has also been attracted with Casimero and if the transfer of Frenkie de Jong is also still completed, United have still laid down a solid ‘Ten Hag base’ for the football that the trainer has in mind. Whether Ronaldo is a part of that will mainly be up to himself. Not by his footballing qualities, but more whether the big CR7 can mentally handle a place on the second plan. After all, that could lead to an even greater drama at Old Trafford than zero points from two games.

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