Manchester United close to sealing £84m move for Ajax’s Antony

Manchester United are closing in on a move to sign Antony after agreeing to pay around €100m (£84m) for the Brazil forward, with negotiations over the terms of the transfer progressing smoothly.

Last week the Dutch club rejected an offer of €90m – United’s third bid for the 22-year-old - but it is understood that talks have been ongoing in recent days and Erik ten Hag’s side are increasingly confident of securing him. Negotiations are understood to be continuing over the structure of the deal, with Antony now expected to become Ten Hag’s fifth summer signing before the window closes at 11pm on Thursday in what would be United’s second-most expensive transfer ever.

The Ajax manager, Alfred Schreuder, insisted on Thursday that he was confident Antony – who has 31 goals in 134 appearances since joining from São Paulo in 2020 for an initial £13m - would not leave in this window. Asked whether that had changed after his side’s 2-0 win over Utrecht on Sunday, Schreuder said: “I stick to those words. I want to talk about the game, not about Antony. I have said more than enough about this.”

He added: “Everything is about money… I think this is sad. But this is our world, it’s very sad and I don’t approve that these things at all.”

Ten Hag wants the Brazilian to strengthen his striking options. The 52-year-old currently has Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford, Anthony Elanga, Anthony Martial and Cristiano Ronaldo in the department.