Man Utd ‘offer’ Ten Hag favourite to Barcelona as Ratcliffe ‘tries to get rid’ of player amid ‘final decision’
Man Utd have offered Antony to Barcelona as they look to get the Brazilian off their books in the summer transfer window, according to reports.
The Red Devils are likely to make big changes in the summer after Sir Jim Ratcliffe completed his deal last month to buy 25 per cent of the Premier League club.
Ratcliffe and INEOS have taken over the footballing operations at Old Trafford and have wasted no time in attempting to put a new hierarchy together.
Omar Berrada will arrive from arch-rivals Man City, while Man Utd are still in negotiations with Newcastle over a fee to make Dan Ashworth their new sporting director.
And there could be big changes to the playing personnel too with rumours that INEOS will look to sell a number of players to fund a summer recruitment drive.
One player on their radar is Antony with the Brazilian failing to provide a goal or assist in 22 Premier League matches this term.
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Ten Hag chose to bring Antony to Man Utd in the summer of 2022 with the Red Devils sanctioning an £85m deal to bring the winger to Old Trafford from Ajax.
The Brazilian is one player on a long list of transfer mistakes from the Premier League club in the decade or so since Sir Alex Ferguson left Man Utd.
And Spanish publication Nacional insists that Man Utd have ‘offered’ Antony to Barcelona ahead of the summer as they are ‘trying to get rid’ of the Brazil international.
Ratcliffe and the rest of the Red Devils board ‘have tired of him’ and ‘his days at Old Trafford are numbered’ as ‘they hope to be able to find a buyer’.
Man Utd, who have made a ‘final decision’ on his future, could allow ‘him to leave on loan’ in order to improve his performances and up his own value once again – but they could struggle to offload the 24-year-old as Barcelona ‘have many doubts’.
The Catalan giants are also worried that Antony has ‘similarities’ to compatriot Raphinha who has flopped since his transfer from Leeds and it seems ‘unlikely’ that Barcelona ‘will make an attempt’ to buy the Man Utd winger.
Antony has also been linked with a return to Brazil on loan but transfer expert Fabrizio Romano insists there are no talks currently taking place.
Romano wrote in his Caught Offside column: “There have been further reports about Antony’s situation at Manchester United, with claims from Brazil that Flamengo are analysing a possible one-year loan move for the winger.
“I would take this with a pinch of salt, however, as Antony firmly rejected any option from Brazil in January. Let’s see if that changes in the summer, but right now there’s nothing taking place and I’m not even sure he would change his mind and accept that just five months later.”
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