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Manchester United chiefs ‘admit’ to Antony transfer mistake

Published 12:26 12 Jan 2023 GMT

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Antony has struggled to adapt to life at Old Trafford

The hierarchy at Manchester United have admitted that they paid over the odds to sign Antony from Ajax. Antony joined for a fee that could rise up to £86m, reuniting with Erik ten Hag, but has failed to fully live up to the weight of the price tag. Despite scoring his fifth goal of the season in the 3-0 win against Charlton on Wednesday, the 22-year-old was withdrawn on the hour mark. His showboating on the pitch has, at times, landed him in hot water. Ten Hag even described one incident as "ridiculous". Reports at ESPN say that the reason behind one of the decisions to bring Antony to the club was because United's scouts were unable to find many left-footed players, with Antony one of three to make the shortlist. The same report features an acknowledgement from a source within the club that the Brazilian was secured at an inflated price.

Man United have faith in Antony

Manchester United also opted to make the move this summer as they believed that they would have faced more competition in 2023, meaning that they may have had to pay even more to land his signature. Despite his underwhelming start to life in England, United still have faith in the youngster that he will prove to be value for money in the long term. United are expected to confirm the signing of Wout Weghorst imminently after they agreed to pay Beşiktaş €3m to cancel his loan and bring him in to Old Trafford until the end of the season. Weghorst will provide some much-needed reinforcement in the attacking department with the club currently possessing just two recognised first-team strikers (Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial). *Follow all the latest January transfer news in our dedicated liveblog HERE