Joe Cole claims Manchester United lost their match against Brighton with a late substitution
Former Chelsea star and current pundit Joe Cole believes Manchester United are trying to push Antony out.
United suffered their first defeat of the season with a 2-1 loss to Brighton at the Amex Stadium after a 95thWinning goal in the 1st minute by Joao Pedro.
Many fans took to social media to blame Diogo Dalot as the left-back was nowhere to be seen and was able to prevent Pedro from touching the ball one last time.
However, former United defender Gary Neville criticised Casemiro’s mistakes in assessing the game after the match.
Cole believes Ten Hag has dropped a hint about Antony
Antony came on in injury time and Cole was not impressed with his contribution towards the end of the game, even claiming that United were trying to sell the Brazilian winger, two years after signing him for big money from Ajax.
“Manchester United brought on Antony, who, with all due respect, is probably not happy to only play 10 or 15 minutes,” Cole told TNT Sports, as quoted by CaughtOffside.
“He’s an £80m player, he probably wants to leave United and they probably want to get rid of him too.
“You put him on the field at that crucial moment when the ball is on the line and someone has to be put on the line for the team and the club. He didn’t do it and that cost his team the win.
“That’s the difference. If you look at the way the Brighton substitutes ran, it was fantastic.”
Cole ignores the fact that Antony has never proven he is an £80million player and that it has long been known that United spent too much to bring him to Old Trafford.
Besides, it’s harsh to blame a player who came on in injury time.
I don’t agree that this is a sign that United are pushing Antony out, as they already know there is unlikely to be an offer this summer.
Who wants him?
The 24-year-old has made 83 appearances for United and has been anything but disappointing so far.
It’s not that Antony wants to leave United. No other European club would pay him the same salary – or even close.
