Antony will sign his contract with Manchester United on Monday after Fabrizio Romano confirmed an agreement in principle with Ajax for the winger’s transfer.
Manchester United have been chasing Antony for much of the summer, with the intention of reuniting him with Erik ten Hag. Amid their need to add attacking reinforcements, the Brazilian winger has been a key target.
After already selling Lisandro Martinez to Manchester United earlier in the transfer window, Ajax have not been willing to give up Antony lightly. They have held their ground over his valuation by rejecting some bids from the Red Devils.
However, there have been signs of progress in recent hours and now a conclusion is finally in sight. According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, there is an agreement in principle between the two clubs for Antony to become a Manchester United player.
Ten Hag’s side will be meeting the €100million asking price for the 22-year-old, which roughly equates to £85million. Therefore, he will be Manchester United’s second most expensive signings of all time, behind only Paul Pogba.
Romano has added that Antony will put pen to paper on his contract with Manchester United on Monday. The agreement will last until 2027, with the option to extend into 2028.
Antony will arrive in Manchester in the coming week to link up with Ten Hag’s squad after a transfer that will be a record outgoing for the Eredivisie.
For Manchester United, he will be the fifth signing of the summer after Tyrell Malacia, Christian Eriksen, Martinez and Casemiro. They will have spent more on Antony than any of those other new arrivals.
Pressure could be on Antony as new challenge begins
As a winger, he will be competing for a space in Ten Hag’s lineups with the likes of Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Elanga among others.
Given the funds that are being invested in him, Antony will likely be a regular starter. There may be some pressure on him to justify his huge transfer fee.
It will also be his first time playing in the Premier League. Therefore, there will be some testing layers to this new challenge. However, after 24 goals and 22 assists in 82 games for Ajax, he will be confident of making an impact in his new surroundings.
The fact that the vast majority of those contributions came under Ten Hag’s management should give him some confidence. The current Manchester United boss got 22 goals and 20 assists out of 79 games from Antony.
And at his age, there is plenty of time ahead to make an impact. The question will be whether Manchester United have overspent. But at this stage in the transfer window, they merely needed to get a deal over the line however possible.
And finally, it appears they are succeeding in doing so.
