Liverpool were made to wait for the breakthrough in their last-16 tie with Inter Milan last night, but class eventually told and the Reds came away from the San Siro with a 2-0 victory. Like all great goalscorers, Mo Salah had little to work with for the majority of the game, but took the one chance that was presented to him.
Jurgen Klopp and his transfer committee will be looking at reducing the age profile of their attacking players, with Sadio Mane and Mo Salah turning 30 this year. One player recently linked with a move to Merseyside is Ajax’s Brazilian winger Antony.
Antony is a skillful dribbler who likes to cut inside from the right onto his left foot (sound familiar?!) and has scored two goals in this season’s Champions League.
On the latest episode of our Journo Insight Show, we asked Goal.com’s Neil Jones whether he could see the young Brazilian in a red shirt in the future.
Neil said:
“I know he’s a very, very highly rated player. They’ve got a few players there that are doing really well. I haven’t heard Liverpool linked with Antony in particular. I have heard Premier League clubs are watching him. Players who are playing at a high level at clubs like Ajax, Benfica or Porto, those are the sort of clubs Liverpool would be able to take players from. He’s a left footed right winger. There’s a left footed right winger at Liverpool who still has a big, big role to play. There are a lot of facets to it, but I think the main thing to say is he’s obviously a very talented player. He’s obviously doing really well at a good level, doing it in the Champions League. He’s doing it both domestically and in Europe. One to keep an eye on.”
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It is easy to see why Antony is an attractive proposition for a host of top European clubs. He will be getting a top-class footballing education at Ajax and is gaining good Champions League experience. He has hit double figures for goals in all competitions in his season and a half in Holland. He has played in some crucial World Cup qualifiers for Brazil, developing a good understanding with Neymar at the Olympics, where he won a gold medal.
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Assuming Mo Salah signs a new contract, (fingers crossed!) it is likely Antony would struggle for a regular start on the right-hand side of the front three.
At 21, time is on his side, but would he be prepared to play second fiddle to Mo for the next three or four seasons? It seems unlikely. As with most attacking players linked with Liverpool, so much depends on the contract situation of Klopp’s ‘traditional’ front three.
