Manchester United’s transfer for Antony under Erik ten Hag has hung like an albatross around the Dutchman’s neck even after leaving but the latest revelations surrounding the move change the whole story.
Even when Antony was signed for nearly £85 million, eyes were rolled at the transfer fee, especially since they had walked away from Ajax’s demand of about £60 million earlier in the window.
Clearly, Man United had panicked after starting the Erik ten Hag era with two brutal losses to Brighton and Brentford and splurged it all on Antony (+Casemiro).
The Brazilian’s previous relationship with Ten Hag at Ajax naturally played a factor and the Dutchman, to this day, gets blamed for arguably one of the worst value-for-money transfers in United history.
Photo by Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images
Photo by Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images
Erik ten Hag’s agent Kees Vos’ revelation about Antony transfer
Kees Vos had become an controversial name by the time Ten Hag left Old Trafford because, for many Man Utd fans, his influence at the club had become too much.
Vos is Ten Hag’s agent and founder of SEG Football, and his standing with United fans didn’t improve much when Rasmus Hojlund signed with the agency after joining United.
Add to that Ten Hag’s inclination towards signing players he knew, and Vos clearly hovered above United like a cloud posing uncomfortable questions, with Antony’s transfer the biggest one among them.
However, as per Vos himself, speaking for Viaplay’s Bart Nolles’ book Liverpool and the Dutch, Ten Hag had asked United to avoid going for Antony at that price.
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Undeterred, United pushed through the move as they were afraid of Arsenal’s interest in the player, and Ten Hag was left to carry the slack due to the narrative of him coming from Ajax.
Nolles says after speaking to Vos (via FCUpdate): “Ten Hag and Vos were not in favor of this and wanted to stop the transfer. But the club wanted to push through at all costs, because Arsenal was also interested in Antony.
“The risk of a stronger competitor would be great. Ultimately, Manchester United paid almost 100 million euros for Antony.
“Although Ten Hag did not support this transfer, it stuck with him throughout his entire time in Manchester that he took over the attacker from Ajax for this ill-fated amount, who was never able to fulfill his promise.”
Video in Dutch below-
Man Utd and Erik ten Hag in damage limitation mode
For all this time, Man Utd were happy to sit back and let Erik ten Hag take the brunt of criticism for Antony’s transfer because it suited their narrative.
This is the first time that Ten Hag’s camp has given his side of the story about the same, and it has a feeling of damage limitation from both sides.
United don’t want to associate themselves solely with the move, happy to pass the buck on Ten Hag’s shoulders, while the manager’s camp is keen to say he didn’t think United should have gone through with the move.
Ultimately, it speaks volumes about how big a disaster Antony’s transfer has been. The manager could never get over the player being signed under his watch, the club was left in financial tatters, and the player suffered from poor form and mental health struggles.
Every side involved in the move is keen to wash their hands off it in pure damage limitation mode.