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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Dan Marsh

Ajax chief confirms plan to sign Antony replacement in Man Utd transfer boost

Manchester United have been given fresh hope of prising Antony away from Ajax - after Gerry Hamstra confirmed that the Dutch giants view Francisco Conceicao as the coveted forward's long-term replacement.

Erik ten Hag is an avid admirer of Antony and is keen to work with the versatile star again at Old Trafford. The 22-year-old clocked up 22 goal contributions for Ajax in 32 appearances last term and is sold on the idea of a megabucks move to the Premier League.

It was claimed earlier this month that United had submitted an opening bid worth €60million (£51m) for the winger, but it was swiftly rebuffed by Ajax, who are thought to be holding out for a sum of around €80m (£68m) for their prized attacking asset.

Despite failing to agree terms, United are still hoping to bring Antony to Manchester this summer - and the Old Trafford hierarchy will be enthused by Hamstra's latest comments on Conceicao. The Porto forward is on the cusp of a move to Amsterdam, and Hamstra has confirmed that the 19-year-old is being viewed as Antony's long-term successor.

The Ajax technical manager told Het Parool: “On the one hand, you want to have immediately deployable players if you lose Champions League-worthy players. But at Ajax we also continue to think about the long term. How fast that happens depends on several factors.

“I can imagine that that goes a little faster with a Portuguese or European than with a boy from South America. So, Conceicao is another example of bringing the successor, in this case Antony, into your selection. We now want to keep this group together. I assume that no one leaves this core anymore. [But] of course, you can never say never, I’ve learned that by now.”

Join the debate! Do you think Antony would be a good signing for Man Utd? Let us know here.

Erik ten Hag wants to strike a deal to bring Antony to Old Trafford (Getty Images)

Manchester United are expected to push for attacking reinforcements in the coming weeks after it was revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo would like to quit the club this summer, so revisiting a move for Antony would make sense.

United will hope they can make another transfer breakthrough with Ten Hag's old club after they finally came to an agreement over a deal for Lisandro Martinez last week.

Ajax were determined to hold onto the sought-after defender, but finally accepted a package worth £55.3m after weeks of talks with the Old Trafford hierarchy.

Martinez - who was identified as a key transfer target after impressing in Ten Hag's Ajax team - is set to become United's third summer signing following the captures of Tyrell Malacia and Christian Eriksen.

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