Erik ten Hag reveals shock detail surrounding Antony’s transfer, Man Utd fans will be confused

Erik ten Hag has revealed a shock detail surrounding Antony’s transfer to Manchester United that could cause some confusion.

Antony has struggled at United since his £85 million move from Ajax in the summer of 2022.

The Brazilian winger scored just once in the Premier League last term despite being a regular in the team for most of the season.

Amad Diallo came into the team towards the end of the campaign and completely outshone his counterpart and looks set to start the season on the right flank for Ten Hag.

Ten Hag has recently come out in defence of the signing, although has seemingly revealed an interesting detail about the deal.

“I’m not going to go into every player, but let me explain,” Ten Hag told Dutch outlet AD as he defended his decision to sign Antony in the first place.

“In that first transfer window, Mason Greenwood seemed to be a leading candidate for that position, right winger. Other than that, we hardly had anyone there. Jadon Sancho can play on the right, but his most natural position is originally on the left wing.

“So when that went wrong with Greenwood, we had to do something there. Number one on the club’s scouting list was Antony. Then one and one is two, right?

“I had worked great with him for two years. He was the standout player in almost every Ajax Champions League match. So, at the time, that wasn’t a crazy choice.

“Especially in the first month, he certainly showed that potential. He scored three times in his first three games. After that, it got harder – last season wasn’t good. But I am still convinced that he has the potential to play at this club.”

The manager’s suggestion that Antony was also the scouting department’s number one choice makes the move even more confusing.

Before INEOS came into the club, it seemed like Ten Hag was calling the shots in terms of transfers, and Antony was perhaps the biggest example, considering reports claimed United did not rate the Brazilian highly.

The Athletic claimed that when United’s recruitment team scouted the former Ajax winger before Ten Hag became the club’s manager, they valued him at around £25 million.

As such, the fact that they were in agreement with the Dutchman that his ex-player was the best potential option is a confusing prospect.

Whether or not the recruitment side were not strong enough in their truthful opinion, United are thankfully operating in a much better manner with INEOS leading operations.

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