Manchester United include unique clause in Antony’s loan deal to Real Betis, it makes perfect sense

Manchester United are close to confirming Antony’s loan move to Spanish side Real Betis until the end of the season.

Antony, 24, has faced challenges since joining Manchester United in the summer of 2022 for a remarkable £85 million transfer fee from Ajax.

The Brazilian winger has struggled to adapt to the Premier League, scoring only five goals in the competition since his arrival.

Following the departure of Erik ten Hag earlier this year, many speculated that Antony’s time at the club might also come to an end.

Although Ruben Amorim has attempted to make use of the player, it has become evident that a loan move to secure more game time would be the most beneficial option before reassessing his situation in the summer.

United include unique clause in Antony loan

According to reports from Relevo, a verbal agreement has been reached between La Liga outfit Real Betis and United for the loan move of Antony.

The Brazilian will spend the rest of the season at the Benito Villamarín Stadium but there is no option to buy in his contract.

Instead, however, United have included another slightly more unique clause in the loan deal of Antony, which has been detailed by ABC de Sevilla.

They report that Betis will be paying less than 50 per cent of the 24-year-old’s salary but United have inserted a ‘penalty clause’ should the Spanish side not play the winger in a certain number of games.

The specific amount of matches was not reported, but it seems to be a smart clause to include in a loan deal where United need the player in increase their value.

United need Antony to perform on loan

Some loan departures can still be successful even if the player does not get much game-time. Youth players learn a lot when moving into a first-team environment.

Yet, this is different as Antony is a player who was signed for £85 million but is now worth a fraction of that value, so including such a clause makes perfect sense.

United need the player to get a load of minutes in the hopes that he can prove himself in Spain and improve his transfer value ahead of the summer window.

Read More: What Antony’s lawyer said about Manchester United winger’s arbitration case against Ajax

Ensuring that Betis will play him in a specific amount of games is a good move but ultimately it will all come down to whether Antony can play well in those matches.

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