Red Devils rushed Antony deal after early season losses
Press reports from Monday evening shared a surprise about Brazilian winger Antony’s move to man united three years ago.
Antony, who is now 25, joined man united in summer 2022 for £85.5 million. It was the first transfer window under new manager Erik ten Hag, and the winger came straight from Ajax, where Ten Hag had also worked.
The Sun explained that the club rushed the transfer because Ten Hag lost his first two games with the Red Devils. United wanted to act quickly and bring in new quality.
Back then, sporting director John Murtough sent three offers to Ajax. The third one got accepted, and the deal was done.
Arsenal interest pushed man united to complete transfer fast
Even though Antony started well, his form dropped fast. Fans began to blame him and saw him as one of the big reasons Ten Hag struggled at man united.
In his second season, Antony lost his regular spot in the starting eleven. Then, during his third season, the club loaned him to Real Betis halfway through.
The Sun shared quotes from Kees Vos, co-founder of SEG, the agency that represents Ten Hag. He said Ten Hag didn’t want the deal to happen and even tried to block it, but the club went ahead anyway.
In Vos’s book “Liverpool and the Dutch,” he wrote, “Ten Hag didn’t support the move and tried to stop it. But the club pushed for it because Arsenal also showed strong interest in Antony.”
Vos also said, “United feared Arsenal would get stronger. In the end, they paid nearly €100 million for Antony.”
Even though Ten Hag didn’t want the deal, people always connected the move to him. Fans believed he brought Antony from Ajax, even though the manager didn’t really support it.
Antony scored 12 goals and gave 5 assists in 96 matches with man united. Many fans made fun of him for not making much impact.
But while on loan at Real Betis, Antony found good form again. He helped the Spanish side with 14 goal contributions in 26 matches.
