Manchester United have been told that £106 million would get both Antony and Lisandro Martínez from Ajax this summer. Erik ten Hag has been keen to sign both players to add to his United squad this summer but prices quoted were quite high.
It was suggested that £43 million could have signed the Argentinian defender with £69 million getting the Brazilian winger, which is £112 million, therefore this price for both players would be considered a bit of a bargain, providing United do not anger Ajax with a lowball offer.
This has been reported by Duncan Castle of the Daily Record. It could well be that United’s summer transfer window starts to show signs of being a positive one. Tyrell Malacia has already been signed and United are aiming to get Christian Eriksen completed at some stage too.
This would leave Frenkie de Jong on the back burner with problems aiming to be resolved at some point, even with Chelsea seeking to sign the player with reports from Spain attributing this, but it could well be a story to keep the saga running, rather than something to worry about.
The report states that both Antony and Martínez have placed pressure on the Dutch champions to let them leave the club this summer. United seem the only team interested in Antony with the player relishing his time with Ten Hag, although Arsenal are interested in Martínez.
Martínez can feature in the centre of defence, also filling in at left-back and in defensive midfield, and with Malacia already signed, United are heavy in the left-back role so that probably won’t be an option or a solution. Strengthening the defence and defensive midfield is a must this summer.
Antony would offer some competition to the likes of Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Anthony Elanga in the wide positions, which has a lot of options and with United likely to lose Cristiano Ronaldo this summer, it may not be the best attacking option to go for.
But that said, Ten Hag knows what he wants to create at this club more than I do, so I will let him take action on what he wants to implement and look at it when and if it happens. Ten Hag has a good relationship with both players and that could be the difference here.
United will embark on their preseason tour of Thailand and Australia on Friday, facing Liverpool in Bangkok on Tuesday before taking on Melbourne Victory, Crystal Palace and Aston Villa on the Australian leg of the tour in the days afterwards.
Written by John Walker
