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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Samuel Luckhurst & Richard Fay

Manchester United edging closer to signing Antony

Manchester United are edging closer to signing Antony from Ajax.

The 22-year-old was omitted from the Ajax squad for the second successive game at FC Utrecht and it is understood United are progressing on a deal for the forward.

The Manchester Evening News revealed last week United were due to bid again for Antony and were confident of signing the Brazil international.

READ MORE: Ajax give update on Antony after star left out of squad again

Although Ajax rejected an improved offer on Friday, United are hopeful of agreeing an overall package that could near €100million (£84.66m).

For most of the summer, United have been reluctant to meet Ajax's valuation of Antony and club figures doubted a deal was doable at the start of July.

United's disastrous defeats to Brighton and Brentford have prompted more proactive movement in the transfer market, with Casemiro signed for a fee rising to £70m despite Ten Hag's fixation on Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong.

Antony has made public his desire to leave Ajax before Thursday's deadline, and Ten Hag is desperate to add a left-footed right-sided forward to his squad in order to bring better balance and creativity to the attacking line.

There is an acceptance at United that they already have a lot of similar attackers, with Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Elanga all preferring roles as inverted left-sided forwards.

Antony has scored 21 goals for Ajax since arriving from Sao Paulo two years ago, but has been omitted from their matchday squad for the past two Eredivisie games.

Speaking ahead of Ajax's game against Utrecht on Sunday, the Dutch team's manager Alfred Schreuder said: "The Antony situation hasn't changed compared to last week. We discuss it internally every day, also with the player. He reports himself at the club and we speak. But I want to focus on the players we have here, for now Antony is not important."

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