Man United to move for 22-year-old if Cristiano Ronaldo leaves – report
Manchester United will step up their efforts to sign Antony from Ajax if Cristiano Ronaldo leaves Old Trafford this summer, according to a report.
The Daily Mirror is reporting that the Red Devils will ramp up their interest in the 22-year-old Brazilian attacker if Ronaldo departs the club ahead of the new season.
Ronaldo’s future has been a talking point over the last few days and according to widespread reports, the 37-year-old has told the club that he wants to leave ahead of Erik ten Hag’s first season in charge.
Manchester United were linked with a swoop for Antony earlier in the summer transfer window but felt they had been “priced out” of a move for the attacker following Ajax’s £70m valuation of the Brazilian, the story says.
However, Ten Hag will put pressure on the Red Devils board to sanction a move for Antony if the club end up losing Ronaldo in the current transfer window, the article claims.
According to the story, Manchester United have already committed more than £120m in transfer fees to sign Frenkie de Jong from FC Barcelona, land Ajax defender Lisandro Martinez and bring in Feyenoord full-back Tyrell Malacia.
The article says that should Ronaldo leave the club, Manchester United would demand some sort of transfer fee, and would also be able to recoup a large amount of cash as a result of getting the forward’s £500,000-per-week wages off their books.
Despite plenty of speculation, Manchester United are yet to make any new signings this summer, with Ten Hag having taken charge of his first pre-season training sessions at Carrington last week.
Elsewhere, Italian reporter Fabrizio Romano has claimed that the Red Devils are set to make Feyenoord full-back Malacia their first signing of the summer this week as they look to finally get their recruitment process up and running.
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