Krishnan Sreekumar
PSG are ahead of Manchester United in the pursuit of Ajax Amsterdam star Antony
According to Le10Sport (h/t The Sun), Manchester United are set to face competition from PSG in the transfer race to sign Ajax winger Antony in the summer, with the French club said to be the front-runners for the star.
The Brazilian has been one of the star performers for Ajax this season, with the winger being at the heart of their attack and proving to be a reliable outlet for goals and assists. Not just in Holland, the player has also proven his mettle in Europe, playing in the Champions League.
With United searching for attacking reinforcements at the end of the campaign, Antony had been eyed as a potential target for the English side to chase. They were not the only team from England interested in Antony, with Arsenal also said to be keen on securing his services in the summer.
Having lost Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in January to Barcelona, the Gunners are keen on signing an attacker who could make up for the goals that the Gabon international scored, and Antony’s recent performances in the Eredivisie had convinced them to take a punt on the winger.
PSG frontrunners for Antony
However, both Premier League sides are set to suffer a transfer blow in their attempts to sign the Ajax star, as Paris Saint-Germain have entered the race to snap him up for themselves. Given the deep pockets that the Ligue 1 side possesses, they are more than capable of beating other competitors for Antony’s signature.
It is said that PSG have “upped their pursuit” in recent weeks, and are currently in the lead to capture the 22-year-old. Any club looking to sign the Brazil international, including the Red Devils, will need to shell out upwards of £30m.
Like Arsenal, United are short of attacking options themselves. Edinson Cavani is running down his contract at the club and could be set to depart in the summer, while Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcus Rashford have looked out of form in recent weeks.
At 37 years old, Ronaldo may not last long at Old Trafford, and Rashford is said to be considering his future after falling down the pecking order at his boyhood club. In a worst-case scenario, we could lose all our strikers within the space of a few transfer windows, which needs to be avoided at all costs.
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Mason Greenwood’s suspension and Anthony Martial’s loan spell has not helped us this season either, despite the latter returning to his parent club at the end of the season. The Frenchman is not the same player we signed years ago, and there is no guarantee that he will stay in Manchester beyond the summer.
Given the dire situation we find ourselves in, PSG’s arrival to snap up Antony could not come at a worse time. However, nothing is confirmed as yet, and we could still pull off a deal for the Ajax winger – especially if we manage to bring his boss Erik ten Hag to the Theatre of Dreams to become our next permanent manager.
