This transfer saga has ended at last. Manchester United have finally signed winger Antony from Ajax for an Eredivisie record fee of €90M, while they also signed goalkeeper Martin Dúbravka on loan from Newcastle.
Manchester United really are the WORST NEGOTIATORS OF ALL TIME. Antony could have been bought for only €60M or less if United just signed him earlier on in the summer transfer window (ie: May, June, or July).
Or, better yet, they could have not wait until the very end of the transfer window to sign ten Hag’s #1 transfer target (after the Frenkie de Jong has seemingly deal fallen through), which would have prevented Ajax from charging them an arm and a leg for Antony.
You’d think that Richard Arnold and John Murtoug hwere completely new to the transfer world of football from the way they’ve conducted United’s transfer negotiations this window. Those two are painfully incompetent.
Anyways, back to Antony, I think he’s a fantastic signing for United and this squad. He not only already knows ten Hag and his style of play, but he’ll also provide real competition for Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho, keeping them on their toes in regard to their starting 11 spots.
In fact, he’s probably going to start for United the minute he is fit enough to play, which means that either Rashford or Sancho will have to fight to regain for their starting place.
If I had to guess, I’d say that Marcus Rashford is the one who’ll find himself on the bench when Antony makes his debut. Rashford had a great game against Liverpool, scoring the game winning goal, but really struggled against Southampton, was woeful against Brighton, and we won’t even mention how he played against Brentford.
He’s fantastic on a counterattack-based team yet has struggled to adapt when defenses play a low block against United.
Antony, on the other hand, had no problem sifting through defenders and unlocking their defenses while at Ajax, which tends to make me think that he’ll replace Rashford over Jadon Sancho. That and the fact both Antony and Sancho have cost Manchester United over €175M these past two summer transfer windows.
As for Dúbravka, he’ll take his place as David de Gea’s backup…for now. With David de Gea’s occasional howlers (as we saw against Brentford) still plaguing him, I’m sure ten Hag wanted to sign another capable goalkeeper that not only keeps de Gea on his best form (in the fear of getting replaced), but also is more than capable of taking de Gea’s place in the starting lineup if his form does drop.
With United also rumored to be interested in Barcelona’s Sergiño Dest and the Frenkie de Jong story just refusing to die, I’d be surprised if these two moves will be the last time we see United in this summer’s transfer market.
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