Erik ten Hag sends strong message to Antony after £80m man played less than a minute in Fulham defeat

Erik ten Hag had no time to play with the favorites with a brutal late substitution for Antony against Fulham.

The Brazilian came on in the ninth minute of added time at 2-1 and only managed one touch before the final whistle blew.

It marks a huge decline for the man who starred in Ten Hag in Ajax before moving to Old Trafford with him for a whopping £80million.

Anthony He has been left starving for minutes this season, and on current form has little chance of breaking into the team ahead of starting wingers Alejandro Garnacho and Mark Rashford.

Ten Hag was asked if the decision to leave Antony out was due to his physical condition, and he gave a brutal answer.

“It had nothing to do with fitness,” he said. “He is fit but we have many options on the right side that we lack in other positions due to injuries.

“We have all seen the way Antony is and he has to take a step forward. I see it in training, but Omari (Forson) and Amad Diallo and Garnacho also deserve to play.”

Ten Hag had already been asked about Antony's situation before the match, as the 24-year-old played just two minutes against West Ham.

“He has to prove something, but he will be able to do it,” said the Dutchman. “He has great potential even though he hasn't shown it lately, but I know what his talent is and it's about him showing his talent, it's about him.

“He will probably have his opportunities, but I think that was probably always the idea and there are competitions and now he has to show himself on the training pitch, but so do others.

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“We have opportunities there with (Amad) Diallo returning from injury, he is doing well in training, Omar is fine.

“We have options to occupy those positions, it is not expected that Marcus Rashford will have to play as a center forward.”