Manchester United’s hopes of generating a bidding war over unwanted winger Antony are gathering pace after a surprise Serie A side made an approach for his services and with Fabrizio Romano having made clear where the Brazilian sees himself next season.
The 16-times capped Brazil star rarely showed the Manchester United faithful much evidence of why Erik ten Hag had convinced the board to fork out the second largest fee in the club’s history for the winger when he moved for a colossal £86m package from Ajax in summer 2022. After a disappointing return of 17 goal contributions (12 scored, five assists) in 96 games for the Red Devils, it came as no surprise when they allowed him to leave, joining Real Betis on loan for the last half of the 2024/25 campaign.
But the move to LaLiga worked wonders for the player’s confidence, and under Manuel Pellegrini, Antony found a manager capable of bringing his lesser-seen talent to life.
Having made 14 G/A in just 26 games for the Andalusian side, he helped steer Los Verdiblancos to the Conference League final, where they lost to Chelsea, and a sixth-placed finish in LaLiga, which brought with it qualification for the Europa League.
As a result, it’s easy to see why Pellegrini and Co. are dreaming of turning his loan switch into a permanent arrangement.
However, any deal will not be straightforward with a number of suitors reportedly considering moves of their own amid our understanding that there is interest from within the Premier League in the form of Brentford and Aston Villa.
Further afield, Bayer Leverkusen – now managed by Ten Hag – have also been linked with a move to reunite him with his former mentor, while Romano has now revealed enquiries from Como over the last few days.
However, as the transfer insider reveals, the ambitious Serie A side may have a hard task on their hands convincing him to change his mind.
Romano wrote on X: “Italian side Como have tried to sign Antony in the recent days but the Brazilian winger is giving priority to Real Betis return.”
“Man United are also aware of Antony’s preference to continue at Betis next season, no club-to-club agreement yet.”
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Antony makes feelings clear as unusual Man Utd exit looms
So desperate is Antony to make a return to the Estadio Benito Villamarin, that the player is willing to agree to a substantial salary cut to secure the move.
However, any such deal will not be easy to make for the LaLiga side, who operate with one of the smaller budgets in the Spanish top flight. Indeed, their own record signing still stands at the €30m (£21.5m) paid for another Brazilian, Denilson, way back in 1998, which at the time was a world-record fee.
And to give an idea of the limitations they work under, they have only spent more than €20m on a player three times in their history: Denilson, Giovanni Lo Celso (€22m) from PSG, and Borja Ingelsias (€28m) from Espanyol.
That said, reports earlier this week suggested they had proposed an unusual transfer formula to try and meet United’s valuation and try and navigate their way through any potential shortcomings.
Per those reports, in which the two clubs are thought to have held what is described as positive talks, Betis are understood to have proposed a deal that would see them pay just £17m (€20m, $23m) to become ‘part-owners of the player’.
Under the proposal, they would look to increase that ownership of the player, initially set at 50% by a further 12.5% each year over a four-year period until achieving full ownership.
Either way, Antony is unlikely to stay at United beyond the summer after admitting he ‘hit rock bottom at Old Trafford.
“I started to doubt, even in myself,” he said. “But, my family always told me to stay calm, because the process is painful and people must accept it. Today, I understand it better after everything I went through. I am grateful for that experience.”
On his time with Betis, he added: “I am very happy here, but I do not know what will happen in the future.
“I always say that I enjoy every day, with the club, the city, everything, and I give my best for the team. It is still too early to talk about my future.
“I think that to regain my confidence, the most important thing was to reconnect with myself. I found that here, and that’s why I’m very happy and more confident every day.”
Pellegrini has also admitted he hopes to have Antony at his disposal again next season.
“I see Antony very involved in the team, in the group, in the institution,” Pellegrini said. “We would all be happy if he stayed, but now we have to focus on the present.”
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Meanwhile, United still have a chance to sign Dusan Vlahovic this summer, but will have to act fast to convince the Juventus frontman to move to the Premier League after the Serbian reportedly made clear his plans to join a surprise side instead.
As an alternative, talkSPORT presenter Alan Brazil is urging the Red Devils to go big and sign an alternative from elsewhere in Serie A, explaining why he thinks the opportunity is there.
And finally, it looks increasingly likely that bad news may be looming over a deal for Bryan Mbeumo after Romano revealed Thomas Frank’s masterplan in reuniting with the Brentford star at Tottenham Hotspur.
IN FOCUS: The timeline of Antony at Real Betis
Antony's stats at Real Betis: Appearances 15 Goals 4 Assists 4 Shots on target per game 0.7 successful dribbles 1.2 accurate crosses 0.9
Per game stats are for LaLiga matches only
➡️ January 25: Antony signs for Real Betis on loan for the rest of the season
➡️ February 2: Antony makes his debut for Real Betis and is named player of the match in a 2-2 draw with Athletic Club
➡️ February 9: After scoring his first goal for Real Betis against Celta de Vigo, Antony earns the player of the match award for a second successive game
➡️ February 13: Antony inspires Real Betis to a Conference League win over Gent with a goal from outside the box
➡️ February 16: Antony gets a goal and assist in a 3-0 win over Real Sociedad
➡️ February 19: Antony is nominated for the player of the month award in LaLiga
➡️ February 23: Towards the end of a game in which he got an assist against Getafe, Antony receives the first red card of his Real Betis spell – but it is rescinded on appeal three days later
➡️ March 1: Antony completes all 90 minutes of Real Betis’ win over Real Madrid – their first in five years
➡️ March 13: Real Betis beat Vitoria de Guimaraes to reach the Conference League quarter-finals, with Antony getting a goal and assist in the second leg
➡️ April 21: Antony scores his first LaLiga goal in over two months in a win over Girona
➡️ May 4: Antony scores the winning goal for Betis in added time away at Espanyol
➡️ May 8: A week after scoring in the first leg, Antony gets a goal and assist in the second leg of the Conference League semi-final against Fiorentina to send Betis into a final against Chelsea
➡️ May 23: Antony scores on the last day of the LaLiga season as Betis finish 6th.
➡️ May 28: Antony starts in the Conference League final as Betis lose to Chelsea. It marks the end of his loan spell, leaving him with 26 appearances, nine goals and five assists.