The £43m winger who could replace Antony at Manchester United

It won’t have escaped the notice of most Manchester United fans that Antony is not having the best season. Even ignoring off-field issues – the winger remains the subject of an investigation into allegations of assault in Brazil – the man who cost Erik ten Hag £86m from Ajax has struggled to pay back a fraction of his exorbitant transfer cost. It probably shouldn’t come as a surprise, then, that the rumour mill is starting to suggest that he could be on his way out of Old Trafford.

The Sun reported yesterday that United weren’t just interested in signing a player to replace him, but that they might even send Antony the other way to facilitate the deal – despite the fact that they also report that the player in question is valued at just £43m, around half of what Antony cost in the first place. That player is Takefusa Kubo, and he’s a hell of a lot of fun.

Regardless of the likelihood of United using Antony as a makeweight in a swap deal – from a purely economic standpoint, it would be a pretty huge surprise if they tried that – it certainly does make sense for Ten Hag to be in the market for the 22-year-old Japanese international, because he’s been one of the most exciting and effective players in La Liga for the last couple of years, shining since moving from Real Madrid to Real Sociedad in a £5.5m deal last summer.

Since Kubo moved to Sociedad, he’s racked up 15 goals and seven assists in the league – Antony, in the same timeframe, has managed four goals and two assists, none of which have come this season. They are similar players in many ways, both in terms of position and playing style, but the blunt fact is that for a fraction of the price, Kubo has been vastly more effective.

A left-footed inverted winger who hugs the right touchline before looking for chances to break into the box in the final third, Kubo is a dynamic, tricksy player with a lovely first touch and the ability to beat opposing defenders on both sides of the ball. In theory, Antony has a very similar profile, although he struggles to beat defenders and get into the box despite his array of flashy stepovers. Kubo doesn’t try to be quite so intricate and tends to achieve far better results.

Kubo spent a few years at La Masia as a child after moving to Spain from Japan, but found himself back in his home country with FC Tokyo before breaking into Barcelona’s senior sides. At the age of 15 he made his J-League debut and he had established himself as a regular by the time he was 17. He returned to Spain, this time with Real Madrid – making him one of the few players who can boast that both of Spain’s superclubs signed him before he even turned 20.

He never made a senior appearance for Real, although he did make an impact on loan at sides like Real Mallorca and Getafe – but it’s his move to high-flying Sociedad that has made a star of him, and he’s now regarded as one of the most energetic and dangerous wide players in La Liga.

Kubo isn’t especially quick for a winger over great distances, although he has a strong burst of acceleration - but that may be the only area in which he hasn’t demonstrated an elite skillset. His dribbling and close control and superb, and he moves the ball from one foot to the other with a grace and ease which has baffled plenty of full-backs. He’s also got an impressive passing range and while his crossing isn’t hugely reliable, he’s excellent at finding killer balls from deeper areas when he isn’t able to dribble his way into the box.

Given the problems United have had with their front three this season, a player like Kubo seems like a great fit, but it’s fair to question whether he makes sense for Ten Hag’s attempts at playing a more direct style. The Dutchman has wanted his wide forwards to stay high up the field so far this season to offer chances for quick balls from deeper areas – Kubo, by contrast, likes to come deeper to get the ball and isn’t the kind of winger who looks to hang off the shoulder of the full-back. The 29-cap Japan international offers a lot of the spark that United have been sorely lacking, but may not be a natural fit for the kind of gameplan Ten Hag is trying to execute. If the Dutchman does go back to the drawing board, however, he offers plenty of quality and the potential to get even better.

For now, we’re somewhat doubtful over The Sun’s story, both in terms of the financial details and whether Kubo would be the kind of player that made it to the top of United’s scouting lists – which isn’t to say that he doesn’t have the quality to massively improve their attack if used correctly. We certainly doubt that Sociedad would sell him this winter – Kubo is a key player for them and they have both another top four campaign to continue as well as a massive tie against Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16 of the Champions League to look forward to. They will not be in a rush to move their star players on.

One thing we don’t doubt, however, is that United may well be losing patience with Antony. He was inconsistent in his first season and has been awful since, and has also become yet another source of bad PR for the club. They certainly won’t get back what they paid for him at this point, so they may well try to keep faith for as long as possible – but it won’t be a huge surprise if they start looking for an escape route from a major transfer flop very soon.