Manchester United have reached a verbal agreement worth €100m (£84m) with Ajax for the transfer of Antony, 90min can confirm.
The Red Devils have been eager to reunite Erik ten Hag with the 22-year-old all summer long, but have been unable to thrash out a deal with the Eredivisie giants.
Ajax have rejected three bids from United, the latest of which was worth around €90m, but 90min understands that a breakthrough has been made in talks between the two clubs – with Antony now closing in on the move to Old Trafford that he has been desperate to make.
Antony was left out of Ajax’s squad to face Utrecht on Sunday and manager Alfred Schreuder said in his pre-match interview that ‘nothing had changed’ in negotiations between the two clubs – indicating that United hadn’t offered to pay the club-record fee the Amsterdam-based giants have been seeking.
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But United haven’t given up on their pursuit of Antony – with Ten Hag clear that signing the Brazilian is his number one priority – and sources have confirmed to 90min that a verbal agreement has been reached with Ajax – although there are still a few details to sort out. United now have just under a week to finalise terms before the summer transfer window closes.
Antony’s arrival would be a huge boost to United who, despite putting a disappointing start to the Premier League season behind them with back-to-back wins over Liverpool and Southampton, have looked short of quality in a number of areas.
That was highlighted in the dismal 4-0 defeat at Brentford, which saw Ten Hag force his players to run in training the additional 14km that Thomas Frank’s side covered in west London. The Dutchman did join in, though, which is said to have earned the respect of the dressing room.
