Erik ten Hag warns Man Utd star he must ‘earn the right to play’

Erik ten Hag has sent a message to Antony (Picture: Getty)

Erik ten Hag has warned Antony that he must ‘earn the right’ to start for Manchester United as his torrid time at Old Trafford continues.

The Brazil international joined United on the recommendation of Ten Hag over two years ago in a £85million move from Ajax but has failed to live up to expectations.

The winger has scored just five goals in two full Premier League seasons and saw much of last campaign interrupted with off-field issues relating to accusations of domestic violence.

Despite the departure of Jadon Sancho, Antony has still found himself starved for minutes, with the emergence of Amad Diallo reducing the 24-year-old to just one minute of playing time so far this season.

That distinct lack of match action saw Antony become the subject of late transfer interest, with Real Betis and Fenerbahce seeking to sign the winger on a season-long loan.

The Brazilian, however, had no interest in a move away from Old Trafford, with United similarly unwilling to sanction a move.

Tuesday could see the winger afforded a rare starting berth as the Red Devils take on third-tier side Barnsley in the Carabao Cup.

The Brazilian has fallen out of favour under Ten Hag (Picture: Getty)

However, Ten Hag insisted that Antony must earn the right to play and has plenty of work still to do to force himself back into the Dutchman’s regular first-team plans.

‘Tomorrow you will see what the line-up will be,’ he said at a press conference on Monday. ‘We have training every day and the players have to earn the right to play.

‘When the players do the right things in training when the attitude is good and they show performance in training then they will earn the right to play.’

Elsewhere, Ten Hag hinted he would be looking to rotate, especially after the injury scares endured by Lisandro Martinez and Noussair Mazraoui in Saturday’s 3-0 win over Southampton.

‘I hope I have many players available and we can make a selection from game to game,’ he added.

‘Definitely, we have to rotate because we have to cover so many games and so it’s not only about a starting XI.’

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