Antony is giving Manchester United a reason not to sign him

There are just ten days left of the summer transfer window, and time is running out if Manchester United are to add to their squad before the deadline passes.

The pressure has already seen United effectively give up on their pursuit of Frenkie de Jong in order to add the more attainable Casemiro to their side, but Erik ten Hag is still keen for his priority forward target to be added if possible.

Throughout the summer window, Ten Hag identified the need for a left-footed forward who could bring balance to their forward line and offer a different type of threat to the many right-footers in his squad.

READ MORE: Antony axed from Ajax squad

It is this desire for fresh creativity and attacking threat that has him looking back over his shoulder at former side Ajax, and in particular their mercurial talent, Antony.

United had looked at the Brazilian earlier in the summer but cooled their interest when it became clear that the Dutch side had no plans to lower their hefty valuation of the player.

As a result, United looked at alternatives. A bid for Marko Arnautovic was rejected and the club were pressured into abandoning their pursuit before a follow-up could be tabled. Cody Gakpo is also admired, but he is another right-footed forward and not a direct alternative to Antony.

It is understood Ajax value Antony somewhere in the region of €100million, meaning it would take close to a club-record fee to sign him before deadline day, just shy of the £89million spent to sign Paul Pogba. United will no doubt look to lower this anyway, and any successful deal would no doubt include a lower initial fee with the rest of the valuation made up in a series of performance-related add-ons.

But with time running out, the Brazilian forward is