English Premier League giants Manchester United could be on the verge of signing their target Antony from Ajax this summer after the Dutch giants chief Gerry Hamstra confirmed that the club sees Conceicao as the coveted forward’s long-term replacement.
The recent development means that Erik ten Hag may finally land his former striker Antony to Old Trafford this summer. Erik ten Hag has always wanted to secure the services of Antony as he desires to continue working with the forward. Antony who had an impressive 2021/22 season finished the campaign with 22 goals in 32 games for Ajax under the management of Erik ten Hag.
His stunning performance has attracted some big clubs to him but Man United are in pole position to sign the striker due to his good relationship with Erik ten Hag. It was earlier reported that Manchester United had submitted an official bid worth around €60million (£51m) for the winger, but the Dutch League champions rejected the offer as they value the player at around €80m (£68m).
Although the teams involved have failed to reach an agreement, Man United are confident that the 22-year-old winger will join them before the start of next season. The Red Devils are even more confident after Gerry Hamstra made a comment about Conceicao. The 19-year-old is close to completing his move to Ajax and Gerry Hamstra has revealed that he’ll be a good long-term replacement for Antony.
Manchester United remain interested in Ajax winger Antony, despite having a £51m bid rejected. (Talksport) pic.twitter.com/uW0tOJzExc
— Transfer News Central (@TransferNewsCen) July 21, 2022
“On the one hand, you want to have immediately deployable players if you lose Champions League-worthy players. But at Ajax, we also continue to think about the long term. How fast that happens depends on several factors”, the Ajax technical manager told Het Parool.
Man United are likely to sign some strikers before the closure of the current summer transfer window because of Cristiano Ronaldo’s desire to leave the club. The Portugal hitman has stated that he wants to leave Man United after spending just one year with the club. According to him, he wants to play in the UEFA Champions League again and Man United failed to qualify for the competition.
Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes is currently searching for a new club for his client but has been rejected by clubs like Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, and FC Bayern Munich. Hence, signing Antony or another striker will be a good move for Erik ten Hag, and the club.
Manchester United will be hoping to sign another player from Ajax again after completing the signing of Lisandro Martinez last week. The top defender joined his former manager Erik ten Hag on a £55.3m deal after weeks of talks with the Old Trafford hierarchy.
