Manchester United have officially signed Ajax winger Antony in a deal worth up to £85m.
The Brazil international now awaits a work permit in order to be ready for selection.
That is unlikely to come through in time for Thursday’s clash with Leicester City, although Erik ten Hag will be hoping to have Antony ready in time for Sunday’s match against Arsenal.
He will bring several new options to the manager, whose squad had previously lacked a left-footed forward or an attacker most comfortable on the right.
It is easy to see why Manchester United were desperate to get their man, but it has not been an easy transfer to negotiate.
Ajax had been unwilling to sell Antony, particularly having already lost a number of key players this summer.
Ryan Gravenberch, Noussair Mazraoui, Sebastien Haller, and United’s own Lisandro Martinez have all been sold by Ajax already in this window.
That goes some way to explaining the Eredivisie Champions’ resolve in extracting such a huge fee for Antony.
The player himself was desperate for a switch to Old Trafford, even going on strike in order to engineer a move away from the Johann Cruyff Arena.
United had at least three bids rejected this summer, with a €90m attempt rejected last week.
Negotiations reached a breakthrough in the last couple of days, with a £85m deal inclusive of add-ons enough to tempt Ajax.
Antony subsequently travelled to complete his medical yesterday.
The fee makes Antony the most expensive outgoing Eredivisie transfer in history, surpassing £75m FC Barcelona spent to acquire none other than Frenkie de Jong back in 2019.
Antony becomes United’s second most expensive signing of all time, with only £94m Paul Pogba costing more.
Erik ten Hag will no doubt be delighted to have finally secured one of his priority targets, having earmarked him as a potential key player early in the summer.
The pair worked together at Ajax and will be hoping to replicate their success at Old Trafford.
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