Manchester United have made a significant breakthrough in their pursuit of Ajax winger Antony. The Red Devils have reportedly reached an agreement with the Eredivise club to sign the Brazilian for a fee that will amount to $100M, making the 22-year-old the most-expensive player ever sold by a Dutch club.
Antony's move to Old Trafford became somewhat inevitable and was largely held back by the difference in valuation between the two clubs. Last week, Ajax dealt the advances of United a couple of blows by rejecting a series of bids from the Premier League club for the attacker.
In a attempt to force the hand of the Eredivise club into selling him, the Brazilian also decided against joining his teammates for training and publicly asked the club to allow him join Manchester United in an interview with Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano. He was subsequently dropped from the squad for the trip to Utrecht slated for Sunday.
On Saturday, the Ajax board reportedly held a meeting to decide the future of Antony despite having initially maintained that their poster boy was not for sale. 24 hours later, the Eredivise champions received an offer that is thought to be close to the $100M (£85M) fee they originally wanted. The fee, which has since been accepted, is said to include performance-related add-ons.
With an agreement reached in principle, Antony is expected to fly over to Manchester in the next 48 hours to complete his transfer ahead of the transfer market deadline on Thursday. The player is expected to sign a contract to be at the club until June 2027 with option to extend a further year.
Antony to Manchester United, here we go! Agreement in principle with Ajax, €100m fee. Contract until June 2027 with option until 2028. To be signed tomorrow. #MUFC
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 28, 2022
Contracts being prepared, it's Eredivisie historical record fee — Antony will be in Manchester next week. pic.twitter.com/Wr9mUiX1Ud
