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Barcelona want to sign Manchester United’s Antony on loan.
According to Catalan outlet El Nacional, the Blaugrana are interested in bringing in “the black sheep” who Erik ten Hag has lost patience with once and for all.
The paper states that the Red Devils have a “serious problem on their hands” with the Brazilian as he was a personal bet from the coach who “was convinced that he could become a key piece, and be one of the pillars of the team”.
This clearly has not become the case, with 18 year old Alejandro Garnacho filling the right wing spot, despite it not being his natural role, due to the former Ajax player’s woeful form.
Things were so different at the end of the 2021-2022 season, however. The sports paper claims that “he had become one of the most sought-after footballers in Europe, and in the Eredivise he managed to attract the attention of the best teams on the planet, so at Old Trafford they were convinced that they had made the right decision with this investment”.
The first year of Antony was seen as “disastrous”, however the club understood that he needed a period of time to acclimatise to his new surroundings.
Apparently United were convinced that the player would find form and “he would be able to demonstrate the sensational skills that he possesses in boots”.
Although, the winger has taken several steps backwards in this campaign.
A mixture of horrendous form which has seen him score zero goals and contribute zero assists in 22 games this campaign along with discipline problems that saw him separated from the group for a while has apparently seen him become the “black sheep of the locker room”.
The Catalan outlet claim that his biggest fan in the past, Ten Hag, is especially frustrated with the 23 year old from Sao Paulo state.
“Ten Hag, who in the past was a great supporter of the Brazilian international, is very unhappy with him, and would not be opposed to a farewell. And here Barça has appeared, who have been very seriously interested in welcoming him into Xavi Hernández’s discipline”.
They claim that Joan Laporta, Barca’s president and Deco, the club’s sporting director, appear to see an opportunity and would be keen to welcome the player into the Blaugrana fold.
Both were interested in his services in the past and under the right conditions, they believe that the attacker can still be a valuable piece.
It is believed that Barcelona could not get close to affording the player in a sale, so the outlet puts forward the idea of a loan, in similar vein to Jadon Sancho’s recent temporary move to Borussia Dortmund.
The piece finishes by asserting that “the only option for him to be able to wear Barcelona is for him to arrive on loan, and it is an alternative that is being studied. Antony would be delighted to try his luck at Barça”.
The player has faced a tirade of abuse from pundits, with Peter Schmeichel claiming that the player must be very “frustrating” for his teammates and Alan Shearer asserting that the player “kills the attacking momentum” of the side.
The Brazilian was also reportedly offered to Barca’s titanic rivals, Real Madrid for €30m by the Red Devils.
