Ajax has significantly increased its asking price for in-demand winger Antony in order to deter Manchester United’s interest.
Erik ten Hag, is keen in bringing the Brazilian great to Old Trafford this summer. However, the Dutch side has increased their fee demand from £68 million to £84 million to emphasize that he is not for sale. With less than a month left in the transfer window, Alfred Schreuder’s side are eager to send a message that the 22-year-old is ‘non-transferable.’
Ten Hag has already made three acquisitions as he attempts to rebuild his club following a disastrous season.
Two of them have come from Holland: former Ajax defender Lisandro Martinez and Feyenoord left-back Tyrell Malacia.
And the 52-year-old is eager to bring back his former teammate, who has scored 23 goals in 79 appearances in all competitions in his two years at the Amsterdam club.
He is more of a right-sided winger than a striker, therefore he would compete with wide forwards such as Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, and Anthony Elanga rather than Ronaldo or Anthony Martial.
Despite new Ajax manager Alfred Schreuder’s assurances that Antony will not be leaving, Sportsmail revealed last week that the Brazilian’s representatives were in Manchester for negotiations.
‘Internally, we have agreed that we want to keep the existing squad together,’ Schreuder insisted. Nobody wants to get rid of him… Antony is doing a good job. I don’t think he’s preoccupied with a transfer.’
He said last week, ‘I honestly think he’ll stay… we’ve also bought players.’ But we’ve sold so many players that I don’t think anyone will depart. It would be bad for us if we lost another vital player.’
And by upping his asking price to a fictitious £84 million, which United is unlikely to pay, Ajax has effectively blocked the transfer.
In other news, Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong is still awaiting £17 million in unpaid wages from the Catalan club before considering a move to Old Trafford.
And United are not interested in a swap deal in which striker Cristiano Ronaldo would leave and Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann would join. It is a fully hypothetical situation that they have not discussed.