Speaking on his YouTube channel, journalist Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Manchester United are yet to meet Ajax’s asking price for Antony.
It has been no surprise to see the Red Devils linked with a plethora of Ajax stars this summer given the appointment of the Dutch giants’ former manager, Erik ten Hag.
However, while Ten Hag has been prioritising a move for Frenkie de Jong, his title-winning side from last season already looks like a shell of itself, with Ryan Gravenberch and Noussair Mazraoui both departing for Bayern Munich, while the talismanic Sebastian Haller looks set for a move to Borussia Dortmund.
It has left the Dutch giants in a difficult situation, and Romano believes this has increased the fee they want for Antony, having seen the crux of their team head for the exit – which could affect United’s chances of attaining the winger.
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He said: “I’m told that €40m is not the price for Antony. Ajax want way more than this. They already lost many players this summer – like Gravenberch, Mazraoui, we know that Haller is going to Borussia Dortmund.
“So, many players already lost, and this is why Ajax are not accepting €40m for Antony.
“And so, Man United will decide soon how to act on Antony, but for sure, he is one of the names on the list.”
TIF Thoughts on Antony and United…
Goal previously claimed that it would actually take €60m (£51.6m) to sign the 22-year-old, but perhaps this will be too far out of the Old Trafford club’s price range given that Barcelona are demanding the €86m (£73.9m) figure that they paid for De Jong three years ago.
Antony has been directly involved in 42 goals in 79 appearances in the Netherlands since his transfer from Sao Paulo back in 2020 and would certainly fill the void of a left-footed right-winger at Old Trafford, but United will most likely have Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho to call upon despite the pair having endured difficult seasons last year.
The pair struggled as they contributed to just six goals each, but perhaps Ten Hag will be the one to rekindle their form after their waning influence under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick – which may be just as well if it negates the need to splash the cash on Antony.
Every club knows the longer the window goes on the more desperate to get players United will become and the stronger their hand is to get United to cough up. This is down to United apparent reluctance to actually start setting up deals before the window opens. Every other club in the World can do it, why can’t United.
Why not look for english players who are used to premier league football already?
All the players man u need but can’t agree on fees.they are messing up seriously.