Comparing Man Utd’s current forwards’ stats with Antony and Rashford’s away on loan

Nestor Watach • 03 Mar 2025

Manchester United are struggling badly for goals this season, with Rasmus Hojlund, Joshua Zirkzee and Alejandro Garnacho failing to make an impact in the final third.

And to make Ruben Amorim‘s headache worse, the two big-name forwards who were loaned out in January – Antony and Marcus Rashford – have made very bright starts at their new clubs.

It wasn’t a shock to see Antony loaned out, given his form. The Brazilian never lived up to his mammoth £81.3million fee at Old Trafford, but new surroundings appear to have done him good, much like the free bet offers UK fans continue to enjoy.

Antony has been a revelation for La Liga outfit Real Betis. He featured at the weekend as they beat Real Madrid 2-1 and has consistently provided goals and assists as Manuel Pellegrini’s Verdiblancos enjoy an excellent run of form.

“When you play against any team in England, the physicality is there. If you don’t have physicality, you will struggle a lot,” Amorim told Rio Ferdinand, speaking in an interview on TNT Sports.

“Antony is so much better now in Spain. It’s [because of] a lot of factors but I guarantee you it’s physicality.”

There has been more controversy surrounding Rashford’s loan departure. The Carrington academy graduate actually made a bright start under Amorim, but soon found himself bombed out of the playing squad.

“It’s always the same reason – the training, the way I see a footballer should do in life. It’s every day, every detail,” responded Amorim, when asked why Rashford was not available in late January.

“If things don’t change, I will not change. It’s the same situation for every player, if you do the maximum and right things we can use every player.

“You can see on the bench we miss a bit of pace on the bench, but I would put [Manchester United goalkeeper coach Jorge] Vital before a player who doesn’t give the maximum every day.”

Rashford has kicked on since joining Aston Villa. He’s been bed in slowly by Unai Emery, often brought on from the bench, but he’s already looked bright and made a decisive impact in the final third.

The 27-year-old is yet to open his account for Villa, but he has set up three goals – all for fellow January loan recruit Marco Asensio. Rashford assisted both of the Spaniard’s goals in the 2-1 comeback victory over Chelsea and once again was Asensio’s provider for the opener in Friday’s FA Cup victory over Cardiff.

Antony and Rashford’s bright starts away from Old Trafford make a stark contrast to the goings on at their parent club. It’s been a month since the January transfer window closed and in that time both Hojlund and Garnacho have failed to register a single goal or assist.

Zirkzee scored off the bench in Manchester United’s 2-1 comeback victory over Leicester City in the last round of the FA Cup, but he struggled – and missed a penalty in the shootout – as United exited the competition at the hands of Fulham.

Club captain Bruno Fernandes has come under harsh criticism from Manchester United legend Roy Keane in recent days, but the Portugal international has often been the only one stepping up.

Fernandes has scored or assisted four of the eight goals they’ve scored over the past month, with midfielders and centre-backs (Mathijs De Ligt, Harry Maguire, Manuel Ugarte) also contributing from set-pieces.

To make matters worse, bright spark Amad Diallo is expected to be out for the rest of the season. In recent days, Amorim has turned to 17-year-old academy starlet Chido Obi-Martin amid their difficulties in attack.

Obi-Martin is yet to score a senior goal but he produced a lively performance against Fulham, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him given the nod ahead of the misfiring Hojlund in Amorim’s starting XI sooner rather than later.

TRY A QUIZ: Can you name every team to knock Man Utd out of the FA Cup since 2000?

We’ve crunched the numbers and looked at the stats of Ruben Amorim’s current forwards since the winter transfer window closed, comparing them to Rashford and Antony in their loans away to Betis and Villa. Note: We haven’t included Diallo or Obi-Martin due to lack of minutes.