Chelsea could steal a march on Manchester United for Ajax winger Antony, it has been reported.
After Erik ten Hag took over at United from Ajax, a number of the Dutch powerhouses’ top players have, of course, been linked with Manchester United.
The main names have been: Jurrin Timber, Lisandro Martinez – who is now a United player- and Anthony.
Antony would likely be an excellent option for United as they are very short in the wide areas at present.
Jesse Lingard left the club for free at the end of last month. This leaves just Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Anthony Elanga as natural wide players for the 2022/23 campaign.
So, signing Antony, whose electrifying pace and quick feet would cause Premier League defences all sorts of issues, seems like a smart move.
The Brazilian is still only young at 22 but is already performing at the highest level – assisting four and scoring two in six Champions League this past season.
Now however, it appears as though Chelsea, who are seemingly in the market for a right-sided forward following their pursuit of Raphinha, are interested in Antony.
Journalist Dean Jones had this to say on Chelsea’s interest in the South American:
“I think there is something in the rumour about Chelsea sniffing around Antony. They know he is looking for a move, so they might look to get involved,” Jones said.
“It’s slightly similar to the [Cristiano] Ronaldo situation. Basically, they need an elite attacker and there are not many that are actually looking for transfers.”
Whilst this would be a big blow for United, they should take some comfort from Thomas Tuchel’s comments on signing another forward following the capture of Raheem Sterling:
“I would not rule it out [signing another striker] but right now it is not the priority,” the German recently told Sky Sports. “The priority right now is defence, it’s not a secret. From there we need to see what’s possible.”
