Ajax sporting director Gerry Hamstra slams Manchester United for last-minute Antony deal
Manchester United got the signing of Ajax forward Antony over the line in the final days of the transfer window. And the Eredivisie champions sporting director Gerry Hamstra was not delighted about it.
The Red Devils had been pursuing the Brazilian all summer. Ajax had turned down United’s approaches before eventually accepting a massive fee of £86 million, including add-ons.
Speaking to De Telegraaf (Subscription Required) [h/t Metro], Hamstra expressed his discontent at the timing of the deal. The Dutch outfit’s sporting director did not feel it was the appropriate moment to lose another one of their stars.
“Manchester United’s timing was so bad. The last few days [of the window] became even more hectic after Ajax had already gone through a major rebuild of the squad following the departure of lots of top-class players.
“But no one had foreseen that our players would be bought for such huge sums of money.”
United were seemingly looking to bolster their forward line following key departures in the area as well as a poor showing from most of our stars up front last season.
Edinson Cavani left the club at the end of the previous campaign. Cristiano Ronaldo was the only attacker who had a considerable impact in front of goal, finishing as the Red Devils’ top goalscorer in the 2021/22 season.
Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho had been poor for United in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s final few games at the helm. The arrival of Ralf Rangnick did not change their fortunes either.
Anthony Martial was unreliable and the Frenchman left on loan to Sevilla in January. We were left with Anthony Elanga as the backup. The Sweden international managed to put in a decent shift under the interim boss.
Erik ten Hag seems to have brought the best out of the likes of Martial, Rashford and Sancho. However, Ronaldo has missed out, being relegated to a substitute role over the last few games.
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The Dutch manager has been reunited with Antony. And the Brazilian has gotten off the mark quickly, scoring on his debut against Arsenal. It remains to be seen whether the 22-year-old is able to continue in the same vein throughout the season.