‘They knew he would leave in the summer’: Erik ten Hag claims the £85m departure of Antony couldn’t have been a surprise for Ajax… as he insists the Brazilian was already a target for Manchester United before his arrival as manager
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has claimed the signing of Antony from Ajax couldn’t have come as a surprise for the Dutch club as they had prepared for his departure since January.
United signed the Brazilian for £85million in the summer after prolonged negotiations, with Ajax doing all they could to hold onto their star man.
The Dutch champions were angry with the situation, with Antony refusing to train in order to force through a move.
Erik ten Hag insisted Ajax were fully prepared for the £85m exit of Brazilian winger Antony
Their boss, Alfred Schreuder, also highlighted his fury at the time of the transfer as he told ESPN: ‘Nowadays, everything is about money. I find this sad, but this is our world.
‘It’s very sad and I don’t approve that these things are happening at us.’
However, United boss Ten Hag has hit back at his former club – and claimed they were fully prepared for the Brazilian to leave in the summer – while he revealed the Red Devils had been targeting the winger long before his arrival.
United signed Antony after protracted negotiations as he skipped training to force a move
Ten Hag also insisted the winger was a target long before he arrived as boss at Old Trafford
‘Antony’s departure couldn’t have been a surprise for Ajax,’ he told Dutch outlet VI.
‘In January they already knew he would leave in the summer. We had three names on the list for the right forward position, he was already on the list at Manchester United before I arrived.’
Ten Hag added: ‘Antony’s management was very clear to Ajax [in January]. They said: “In 6 months time, Antony will make a transfer”.
‘Then we started working on getting another Brazilian in to replace Antony, and Steven Bergwijn.’
Ajax did indeed sign Steven Bergwijn, bringing the forward in from Tottenham for £28m in the summer.
Ten Hag argued work had already started to bring in Antony’s replacement Steven Bergwijn – the Dutch winger joined from Tottenham for £28m
Antony then departed with the Brazilian making a positive impact so far during his time at Old Trafford.
He has scored three goals in six Premier League games and showed signs of having the talent to succeed, while he also featured for Brazil during the World Cup in Qatar.
United return to action on Wednesday evening when they face Burnley in the Carabao Cup.
The Red Devils then host Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on December 27.
