The good news, to use Ruben Amorim’s phrase, was that two of the forwards on Manchester United’s books have hit form. Not for United, admittedly.
Marcus Rashford scored twice in an FA Cup quarter-final, has earned an England recall and has his current club manager saying he is getting back towards his best. Although that manager, tellingly, is Unai Emery of Aston Villa.
Meanwhile, Antony has starred in a side who have reeled off five straight league wins. Though the division in question is LaLiga and the club in form is Real Betis.
United are in what approximates form themselves and have two forwards on the goal trail. They have won their last two matches in all competitions and, discounting penalty shootouts, they are unbeaten in seven. When they won 3-0 at Leicester, Rasmus Hojlund scored his first goal in 22 games and Alejandro Garnacho his first in 25.
It may seem inconvenient for Amorim that players appear to perform better away from United, even if it is easier to question his judgement for discarding Rashford than Antony. Amorim tried to frame their exploits as a positive.
“I know Rashford really well and everybody knows the talent that he has,” he said. “He’s a top player, if he wants.” The last three words may seem pertinent but he continued: “So I’m not surprised and it’s the same with Antony. It’s a good thing we see our players doing well on loan in a different context. That can happen. It’s a good sign for the club.”
Perhaps. Aston Villa have a £40m option to buy Rashford but, as Emery has outlined, their budget next season depends on which, if any, European competition they qualify for. Meanwhile, Betis captain Isco has joked that they should crowdfund to raise the money to keep Antony; it would need to be a particularly wealthy crowd if United were to recoup the £85m they spent on the Brazilian.
A duo who may have seemed someone else’s problem when loaned out could provide a conundrum for Amorim again. Awkward situations may beckon. “I’m planning the future but I don’t want to talk about the future in this moment,” Amorim added. Rashford remains among his least favourite topics.
That future, at least, will include Bruno Fernandes. The suggestions
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