Manchester United icon makes Sir Alex Ferguson point as he compares Antony with Cristiano Ronaldo

Former Manchester United striker Teddy Sheringham believes Antony's first season is similar to Cristiano Ronaldo's and the Brazilian will need time to adapt to the Premier League.

During his first season at Old Trafford, Ronaldo scored six goals and grabbed eight assists in what was a modest start to his United tenure. Antony meanwhile has scored eight goals and notched two assists but has often been criticised for being absent during matches.

Discussing the Brazilian's start to life in Manchester, Sheringham believed it would be interesting to find out what his old manager Sir Alex Ferguson thinks of him. He told Lord Ping: "I’d be interested in hearing what Fergie thinks of Antony.

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"Whenever we played against wingers like that, Fergie would call them a ‘little fizz-pop’, because he is a winger that whizzes around, can disappear for long periods of games and can do needless tricks, but is also capable of scoring a wonder goal every now and again. He’s not really a Fergie player – Fergie liked his wingers to be more consistent than Antony has been.

"I know that he has scored some great goals; some important goals, and he is obviously a talented boy. I think he needs to learn a little bit more about the Premier League, a little bit like Ronaldo when he first joined the club."

One thing Antony cannot be accused of is a lack of passion for the cause. The 23-year-old took on the role of pantomime villain on Thursday night in the 1-0 defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion.

Antony was involved in several confrontations with opposition players but manager Erik ten Hag stood up for him afterwards. "Yeah, but his passion is a strength," the boss said.

"Of course, until a certain level you have to