Mueez Ajao
– Ajax have rejected an €80million bid from Manchester United for their Brazilian winger Antony, according to David Ornstein.
– The Red Devils have been chasing Antony ever since Erik ten Hag became the club’s new manager back in May.
– The Premier League side went into the summer transfer window full of optimism, with Frenkie de Jong, Antony, Jurrien Timber and Darwin Nunez all linked with a move to Old Trafford.
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– Two months later, they have not convinced De Jong to join and Antony and Timber are still with Ajax in Amsterdam, with the latter this week signing a new contract at Ajax.
– Nunez, meanwhile, joined arch-rivals Liverpool in July for a reported club-record fee.
– It appears that United have finally accepted defeat in their pursuit of De Jong having registered an interest in Juventus’ Adrien Rabiot and Real Madrid’s Casemiro.
– They had a £15m bid for Rabiot accepted by the Serie A side, however, could not come to an agreement on personal terms.
– United’s pursuit of Casemiro is looking pretty positive with Madrid reportedly open to letting him leave for the right price.
– A wide forward is still on the agenda for Ten Hag and the Red Devils have been linked with Atletico Madrid winger Yannick Carrasco this week.
– And according to The Athletic correspondent David Ornstein, United have revived their interest in Antony after focusing on other targets over the past few weeks.
– Ornstein claims the Premier League club made a huge €80m (£67.6m) bid to sign the Brazilian, but it was rejected by Ajax.
#mufc submitted an offer of €80million (£67.6million) for Antony on Wednesday, but saw it rebuffed. [@David_Ornstein, @lauriewhitwell]
— The United Stand (@UnitedStandMUFC) August 18, 2022
– It has been reported that Ajax are hoping to receive £80m (€94m) for the 22-year-old.
– It will be a huge challenge for Manchester United to complete the signing of Antony, though Ten Hag is desperate to improve his forward line.
– Following the rejection of their most recent bid, the Red Devils’ hierarchy are ‘not optimistic’ in bringing the former Sao Paulo winger to the club.
– Ajax are unsurprisingly very keen to retain the player and it is believed that PSV winger Cody Gakpo is a more realistic target for United.
Cody Gakpo is seen as a more realistic option than Antony. [@skysports_sheth] #mufc
— The United Stand (@UnitedStandMUFC) August 18, 2022
🗞 Ajax want to keep hold of Antony and #mufc are reluctant to go higher than this week’s €80m bid. A deal for PSV winger Cody Gakpo is seen as more likely of the two. [@lauriewhitwell, @David_Ornstein]
— UtdDistrict 🔰 (@UtdDistrict) August 18, 2022
#mufc are also now fully turning their attentions to PSV winger Cody Gakpo who will cost around £34m. [@JBurtTelegraph, @mcgrathmike]
— The United Stand (@UnitedStandMUFC) August 18, 2022
– United are still prioritising a central midfielder, but are still in the market for a winger, striker, right-back and back-up goalkeeper.
– It promises to be a hectic final two weeks of the summer window for the Premier League club.
– The clubs’ fans are in dire need of some positive news following United’s torrid start to the Premier League season.
– They were beaten 2-1 by Brighton at Old Trafford on the opening weekend of the season before an embarrassing 4-0 loss at Brentford last Saturday.
