ERIK TEN HAG says it was essential they landed Antony if Manchester United wanted to compete at the top level.
United have completed the £85.5million capture of the Brazilian winger from Ajax.
And with midweek games coming thick and fast in the Premier League and Europa League Ten Hag revealed he feared they did not have enough in their attacking arsenal to cope.
Ten Hag said: “In the offensive department, we still needed to strengthen our squad because we have many games to cover, from now we go three games a week, every third or fourth day.
“As you know, especially offensive players, they fatigue quicker, they have to run more, it is high intensity, we expect that from them. We don't only need quantity, we need quality.”
Ten Hag believes he has got that with Antony his fifth signing in a £227m spending spree.
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Martin Dubravka is set to be the final signing of a record-breaking window for the club, joining in a £5m season-long loan deal from Newcastle to be David de Gea’s understudy.
Ten Hag said: “I think so, it will be for this window the end, but when there is a great opportunity we always have to be alert at this top club.”
The manager once again insisted that Ronaldo remains in his plans although that is mostly down to the fact there have been no bids for him.
He said: “I just said we need quality players, you need more to cover all the games, to keep the consistency going, that is what we strive for.”
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United take on Leicester at the King Power Stadium tomorrow as they bid to build on two confidence-boosting wins over Liverpool and Southampton after two defeats to Brighton and Brentford.
Ten Hag said: “I see it as a start, I think we have a good base, this is the minimum we have to bring and I was happy to see the turn.
“We have to keep that, to keep the spirit, to keep this winning mentality because you need it if you want a successful season.”
New signing Antony is not available to play as the paperwork still needs to be completed but the club are hoping to have him available for Sunday’s visit of Arsenal.
Anthony Martial’s Achilles injury is likely to keep him out of both games.
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