£200k-p/w Utd man could now miss out on move to Euro giants due to their apprehensions over his state of mind

Manchester United chiefs are now seemingly at a loss over what to do with failed Erik ten Hag signing Antony. 

Indeed, the Brazilian has become nothing short of an outcast in his third season at Old Trafford, with him falling entirely out of favour behind younger counterparts Amad Diallo and Alejandro Garnacho.

Long did Antony retain the faith of Ten Hag, who opted to pursue the winger during his first transfer window in 2022, throughout the last two seasons, despite offering lacklustre performance after lacklustre performance each week.

Eventually, even Ten Hag conceded defeat that the forward was somehow unable to replicate the same form he’d witnessed in Amsterdam and instead looked to utilise the other talents he had at his disposal – much to fans’ delight. 

United prepared to offload Antony if an opportunity arises

(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Antony has made only four appearances in all competitions this campaign. His one start of the term came in last month’s third-round Carabao Cup tie at home to Barnsley, while he has featured for a total of 27 minutes across two cameos in the Premier League. In turn, he has been an unused substitute for six of the opening eight matches.

Reports have done the rounds in recent weeks suggesting that United are drawing up plans of how they can eventually sanction the 24-year-old’s exit on a permanent basis. Brutally aware that they’ll get nowhere near the ludicrous £86 million fee they forked out for him, there are hopes that he can drive up his transfer value by spending the second half of 2024/2025 on loan. 

Should he wish to remain in the English top flight, Newcastle United and Crystal Palace are interested in taking his services on board. 

His former club, Ajax, had also been mooted as an option for Antony to go and reignite the best version of himself, but even they harbour concerns over his ‘mindset’, per Dutch outlet De Telegraaf, as cited by the Daily Mail. 

The Eredivisie outlet ‘have doubts’ about whether he’d be a suitable fit after making such little impact during his two full seasons with United, where he has scored 12 goals in 86 appearances.