According to a new report from transfer expert Dean Jones, Manchester United might be forced to pay for a player they don’t want to keep this summer.

News of Man Utd’s transfer

Since the January transfer window closed, the Red Devils have been connected to a number of new players ahead of what fans are hoping will be a busy summer at Old Trafford. Journalist Fabrizio Romano believes that highly-rated midfielder Joao Neves of Benfica has been scouted multiple times by United; the young player is viewed as a possible major addition in the middle of the park.

Mathys Tel, a young player who is a talent for Bayern Munich, has also been tipped to complete a move to the Red Devils, even if he may be determined to remain in the Bundesliga for the time being.

Munich’s Mathys-Tel-Bayern Premier League
Though he is only eighteen, young Lille defender Leny Yoro is regarded as another long-term addition in the transfer rumours. Yoro is already an important member of his present team. Hence, it is evident that Sir Jim Ratcliffe and company aim to transform the Old Trafford team by adding young, highly skilled players.

Man Utd might have to hold onto Ten Hag’s failure.

In an interview with Give Me Sport, Jones stated that while Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Manchester United would be pleased to let go of Antony this summer, they will probably be “forced” to hang onto him.

“Compared to Antony, Christian Eriksen is considerably easier to get rid of and requires less upkeep. Eriksen is probably going to leave in the summer. He’ll have a number of excellent options in front of him. However, that won’t actually apply to Antony. I do think United would sell him if they could. However, considering that he is an out-of-form £80 million luxury player, it should come as no surprise that he does not currently have a market.

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“While Antony is not a versatile player, Eriksen can fill a variety of roles on different teams. Because of this, United will most likely have to stick with Antony unless something similar occurs in Saudi Arabia and they are able to recover as much of that money as possible.”

Considering that United paid £85 million to get Antony from Ajax in 2022, he has undoubtedly been one of the team’s most disappointing acquisitions since Sir Alex Ferguson left the club.

The winger has made 69 appearances over that period, totaling just nine goals and four assists—a pitiful performance for an offensive player. He frequently gives off the impression of being dangerous but doesn’t really impact games enough, so United would be smart to capitalise on him this summer, if they can.

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Even though Antony is still young, he has had enough time to establish himself, and if new players are added, he should at the very least play a supporting role since Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford are better choices to start when healthy.