Manchester United are reportedly closing in on their first signing of the summer with Antony ‘on his way‘ from Ajax in a £40 million deal according to Neil Custis of The Sun. It is understood by the report that United officials are due in Amsterdam on Tuesday to ‘get the deal over the line‘.
Custis has reported that Erik ten Hag wants his former player to signal the start of his rebuild of the Old Trafford club, the fifth rebuild post-Sir Alex Ferguson, who retired nine season ago with United not really challenging for a single Premier League title in that time.
The Brazilian winger, 22, had a positive season at Ajax under Ten Hag last season making 32 appearances, scoring 12 goals and also registering 10 assists as the Dutch club won the Eredivisie for the 36th time, securing back-to-back titles.
Antony has plenty of praise for his former manager who left Ajax at the end of the season to replace Ole Gunnar Solskjær as the next permanent manager of the club, succeeding interim manager Ralf Rangnick, who departed at the end of the season. The 22-year-old said:
“I want to wish you all the best at your new club. I also want to thank you for everything you taught me. I am thankful all the opportunities and learning every day. Know that I will always stand with you if you need me.”
United lost the services of Edinson Cavani, Juan Mata, Jesse Lingard, Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matić and Lee Grant this summer as their contracts expired, so bringing in a new attacking player will go a long way to rejuvenating the squad, in addition to youth being promoted to the senior squad.
The Brazilian is an exciting talent who has completed just two seasons at Ajax, winning the Eredivisie during both of those seasons, making 78 appearances, scoring 22 goals and 20 assists. He previously played for São Paulo in Brazil, making 52 appearances, scoring six goals.
The 22-year-old has been capped by Brazil nine times, scoring two goals; his first on his international debut against Venezuela with his second on his seventh appearance against Paraguay. It seems to be early days for the Brazilian in his career but he could be a great asset for United.
Antony has two Eredivisie titles to his name, plus one KNVB Cup during his time at Ajax. He also won the 2020 Summer Olympics football tournament with Brazil, who beat Spain 2-1 in the Gold Medal match. If this report is true, United could have a fantastic signing here.
Written by John Walker
