Last week, the Dutch club rejected a €90m bid – United’s third bid for the 22-year-old – but it is understood talks have been taking place in recent days and Erik ten Hag’s side are increasingly confident of securing him. Negotiations are understood to be continuing over the structure of the deal and Antony is now expected to become the Ten Hag’s fifth summer signing before the window closes at 11pm on Thursday in what would be United’s second most expensive transfer ever. Ajax boss Alfred Schroeder insisted on Thursday that he was confident that Antoni – who has 31 goals in 134 appearances since joining from Sao Paulo in 2020 for an initial fee of £13million – would not leave this season window. Asked if that had changed after his side’s 2-0 win over Utrecht on Sunday, Schreuder said: “I stand by those words. I want to talk about the game, not about Antonis. I’ve said more than enough about that.” He added: “It’s all about the money… I think that’s sad. But this is our world, it’s very sad and I don’t approve of these things at all.” Ten Hag wants the Brazilian to bolster his impressive options. The coach currently has Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford, Anthony Elanga, Anthony Martial and Cristiano Ronaldo. Meanwhile, former United striker Edinson Cavani looks likely to join Valencia on a two-year deal.
