Manchester United are still interested in signing Ajax winger Antony this summer, TalkSPORT reporter Alex Crook claims.
The Red Devils have been heavily linked with the Brazil international over the past few weeks, but it was recently reported that they no longer expect to sign him.
However, Crook believes United have not given up on the player. Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag remains a firm admirer of Antony and feels he could ‘add something’ to his rebuild.
In the same update, Crook revealed that Antony is valued at €70 million (£60m) or even less, and United could make a late summer move regardless of Cristiano Ronaldo’s future.
Our view:
United have signed three players in Tyrell Malacia, Christian Eriksen and Lisandro Martinez this summer. Martinez was recruited from Ajax after a prolonged transfer saga.
The Red Devils’ hierarchy tried to negotiate a lesser fee for the central defender, but they eventually ended up paying £57m including add-ons to land the Argentina international.
Hence, we can say that funds are not a concern for the Mancunian giants, and they could move for Antony later on in the transfer window if Ten Hag remains keen on a reunion.
Antony is currently nursing an ankle injury sustained in March this year, and Manchester United may want to assess his condition over the coming weeks before making a serious move.
New Ajax manager Alfred Schreuder said that he could feature in the final phase of pre-season, and United could wait until then before considering an approach for Antony.
Antony is a specialist left-footed right-winger and would provide a different dimension to the Red Devils’ attack. He could be regularly rotated with Jadon Sancho by Ten Hag.
The 22-year-old has excellent pace on the counter-attack combined with good dribbling ability. He made 22 goal contributions last term, and should only get better in years to come.
