Manchester United are not willing to wait until the dying stages of the transfer window for Antony to force through a move to Real Betis, claims a Spanish newspaper.
The winger spent a successful loan period at Betis in the second half of last season but the La Liga side seem unable to stump up the kind of fee United want to allow the 25-year-old to leave.
Antony’s time at United has been nothing short of a disaster and having purchased him for £85m just three years ago, the INEOS-controlled club are hoping to recoup around £30-40m.
Antony has made it clear his preferred destination is Betis and Seville-based outlet ABC say he is willing to wait until the last days of the window to force through a move.
The outlet says that ‘Antony and Betis believe that every day that passes without a solution is beneficial to their interests’ but United ‘does not want Antony to wait until the end of the transfer window to pressure them into letting him go to Betis.’
The report said: “The English club is aware of Betis’ strategy and is trying to prevent it by pressuring their player to make a decision now.
“Old Trafford has offers that they consider financially valid to transfer Antony, or at least they do not want the market to interpret that he is only headed for one destination, while Betis is only asking for a pure loan, although a purchase option would be considered.
“The parties are not in fluid dialogue, and Antony’s attitude has greatly angered United officials, who have given him an ultimatum: either he accepts one of the offers of around £30-40m for his sale to another club before the start of the Premier League this week, or he will remain on the bench until January, with the almost certain consequence of missing the 2026 World Cup.”
United reportedly would be open to a loan but would require Antony to extend his contract before sanctioning such a departure. The Brazilian is currently contracted to Old Trafford until 2027.
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ABC say the “only option” for Betis is to wait until the final days of the window before proposing a loan move with a possible obligation to buy if conditions are met.
Antony was one of five players told in the summer that they could leave United but several weeks later, just one of them has departed.
Jadon Sancho, Alejandro Garnacho and Tyrell Malacia remain at the club with Antony, with only Marcus Rashford having left. Even then, the deal for the English forward was a loan move to Barcelona.
Garnacho remains a target for Chelsea but the two clubs have yet to agree a fee.
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