Erik ten Hag is being met with resistance from the Manchester United hierarchy amid his interest in signing Hakim Ziyech from Chelsea.
Ten Hag coached Ziyech, 29, at Ajax and has identified the Morocco attacker as an alternative left-footed attacker to Antony, who has been priced out of a move by Ajax as he is valued at €80million.
Ziyech is under contract at Chelsea until 2025 and was an unused substitute in their opening weekend win at Everton.
Also read: United not expecting Rashford departure despite PSG meeting
United have largely backed Ten Hag's preference for targets familiar to him but Ziyech has been deemed an exception. The club was happy to lodge an €8m bid for 33-year-old Bologna forward Marko Arnautovic last week.
In what is becoming an increasingly desperate transfer window, it can be revealed United made an 11th-hour attempt to sign Timo Werner from Chelsea before he rejoined RB Leipzig for £25million.
Werner, 26, joined Chelsea for £45m in 2020 and scored a paltry 23 goals in 89 games but won the Champions League and Club World Cup.
United's failure to sign Werner is further embarrassment in a week Benjamin Sesko sealed a move to Leipzig three weeks after his agent met the United football director John Murtough.
What is particularly galling for United is they have effectively ignored former interim manager and recruitment consultant Ralf Rangnick's recruitment recommendations of RB Leipzig players Josko Gvardial, Konrad Laimer and Christopher Nkunku, and pursued two players who have ended up moving to Leipzig.
United withdrew from an attempt to sign Arnautovic after a fan backlash but are continuing negotiations with Adrien Rabiot, having agreed a fee of £15m rising to £20m for the Juventus midfielder.
Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is another midfielder of interest to United as they risk further humiliation with the pursuit of Frenkie de Jong, which started 93 days ago.
READ MORE:
