Manchester United could be forced to retain the services of a player they don’t want to keep this summer, according to a new update from transfer insider Dean Jones.
Man Utd transfer news
The Red Devils have been linked with plenty of new signings since the January transfer window closed, ahead of what supporters will hope is a busy summer at Old Trafford. Highly-rated Benfica midfielder Joao Neves is a player who journalist Fabrizio Romano claims has been scouted a number of times by United, with the youngster seen as a potentially huge signing in the middle of the park.
Another young player in Bayern Munich starlet Mathys Tel has also been backed to complete a move to the Red Devils, although his heart may be set on staying put at the Bundesliga club for the foreseeable future.
The transfer rumours don’t stop there, though, with exciting Lille defender Leny Yoro seen as another long-term acquisition – one who is already a key player for his current club, despite still being 18 years of age. It is clear then, that Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Co want to revolutionise the Old Trafford squad with young high potential players.
Man Utd may be forced to keep Ten Hag’s flop
Speaking to Give Me Sport about possible outgoings, Jones claimed that Manchester United and Sir Jim Ratcliffe would be happy to sell Antony this summer, but will likely be “forced” to keep hold of him.
“Christian Eriksen is much easier to get rid of than Antony is and he’s also low maintenance compared to Antony. I think Eriksen will leave in the summer. He’ll have some good opportunities ahead of him to choose from. But that’s not really going to be the case for Antony. United would sell him if they could, I do believe that. But it’s no surprise to anyone that he does not have a market at the moment given he’s an out of form £80m luxury player.
“Eriksen is a player that can play various roles in various types of teams, Antony’s not. For that reason, United are probably going to be forced to persist with Antony unless something like a Saudi Arabia situation crops up and they’re able to get as much of that money back as possible.”
Antony has arguably been one of the most disappointing signings of the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era at United, considering they spent £85m on signing him from Ajax back in 2022.
In that time, the winger has scored just nine goals and registered four assists in 69 appearances, which represents a dreadful return for an attacking player. Too often, he can look threatening but ultimately not affect games enough, and United would be wise to cash in on him this summer, if they are able to.
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Fabrizio Romano: Man Utd have scouted Benfica prodigy “multiple times”
He has “been scouted multiple times” by the Red Devils.
Antony may still be young, but he has had long enough to prove himself now, and with Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford better options to start when they are fit and firing, a squad role at best should come his way moving forward, especially if new signings come in.
