Antony’s transfer from Manchester United has “no possibility” following Erik ten Hag’s comments

Antony’s potential transfer away from Manchester United has been ruled out following Erik ten Hag’s latest words on the Brazilian winger.

Antony‘s career at Manchester United has not followed the trajectory many hoped for when he first signed for the Old Trafford club in 2022. He rejoined with Erik ten Hag in the same summer the Dutchman joined the club.

Antony signed for a fee of around £85 million towards the end of the 2022 summer transfer window, and although the transfer came with a lot of criticism considering the price tag, he was fantastic during his opening matches, scoring against the likes of Arsenal, Everton, and Manchester City.

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However, Antony’s form soon dropped off after defenders realised that he had a heavy tendency to force the ball onto his left foot, and fantastic displays from Alejandro Garnacho and Amad Diallo meant the 24-year-old lost his place in the team.

There have been rumours that Antony would be allowed to leave the club on loan this summer, provided that the side loaning him covered his wages. Brazilan club Sao Paulo, where he started his career, is one side linked with the player.

However, his agent, Junior Pedroso, has now ruled out the possibility of a move back to the
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A.

“Talking to President Julio Casares, he assured me that there is no possibility of this deal happening; it is something completely out of the reality of São Paulo. Antony is not coming back now. His priority is Manchester United,” he told Jorge Nicola.

This comes after Ten Hag defended the Brazilian international, explaining that Antony has still shown that he has the potential to be a United player despite his poor seasons so far.

“I don’t go over the budget,” Ten Hag said when asked by AD Sportwereld about Antony’s price tag. I’ve never even had a budget. At United, the budgets lie with the owners and management. He [Antony] certainly showed that potential in the first month: he scored three times in his first three games.

“After that it became more difficult, last season was not good. But I am still convinced that he has the potential to play at this club. We want this club back to where it was more than a decade ago, to a club that wins the Premier League, which can win Champions Leagues.

“We are really a long way away from that, I think. I think we’ve taken steps since then, otherwise we wouldn’t have won two prizes. But we are not yet so far that a ‘winning culture’ already prevails here in all respects. Our standards, our norms and values, still need to go up.”

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