Antony’s form has seen him linked with a host of clubs
across Europe, and Liverpool are no exception to the rule. The Reds have been
connected with Anthony on and off this season, and it’s been reported that a
fee northwards of £30m will be enough for the Dutch side to sell the player.
Ajax signed Antony for £18m just two years ago, so it’s
likely that they will be able to make a substantial profit on the winger.
But should Liverpool make a move for the Brazilian, or
should the player even want to leave the club?
As recent history has shown, it may not be such a smart
decision for Antony to want to leave Ajax. Players who have sparkled under the
Ajax system over the last several years have struggled when moving to side that
don’t play in the same way.
We’ve seen this with players from the 2019 side that reached
the Champions League semi final. Matthijs de Ligt earned a massive move to
Juventus, with the-then Italian champions paying around £67m to bring him to
Turin.
De Ligt has subsequently struggled at various times with a
different brand of football and a different way of interpreting the game at
Juve, and while he has improved immensely since his first season in Serie A, he
is still culpable of giving away needless penalties and can get caught out of
position on occasion.
Frenkie de Jong was another who was cherry picked from the
2019 side, signed by Barcelona for £65m. The midfielder has also struggled away
from the Ajax model, to such an extent now that his could be discarded this
summer to bring in money the club needs to give Xavi the players he’s demanding
to rebuild the club after a fairly few disastrous years.
De Jong has, coincidentally, been linked with Liverpool and
a move this summer. It seems very likely that Barca will offload the talented
midfielder in what has been an ill-judged move for the midfield talent.
The same could also be said for Chelsea attacker Hakim
Ziyech (£33m). While a few years older than both De Ligt and De Jong, Ziyech
has also struggled to hold down a regular place in Chelsea’s side as he arrived
in the same summer as a myriad of other attackers following the lifting of
Chelsea’s transfer ban. The Moroccan got lost in the shuffle and hasn’t come
close to replicating the form he showed at Ajax.
Donny van de Beek (£35m) is yet another who left Ajax for a
bigger side and failed to kick on, with his move to Manchester United an
unmitigated disaster.
Antony would be wise to heed their advice and potentially
stay where he is, at least for the foreseeable future. Moreover, it’s debatable
whether Liverpool actually have any need for him now, given the sheer depth of
attacking options Jürgen Klopp has at his disposal.
Things may change in a year or two for The Reds, but Antony
should perhaps appreciate that the grass is not always greener on the other
side. Just ask De Ligt, De Jong, Ziyech and Van de Beek.
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