Antony, The Brazil winger was one of Erik ten Hag’s main summer targets, and after weeks of hounding Ajax, United eventually agreed to pay their asking price. Their failure to sign Frenkie de Jong from Barcelona after an equally drawn-out transfer fight encouraged them to give in. Only Paul Pogba is now more expensive per player for Manchester United than Antony is.
However, it would have been better for United to keep their money. Despite playing 82 games, Antony has only managed to score 11 goals and create five more since coming to Old Trafford. In Amsterdam, this ratio was one goal every two games; in England, it is now one goal every five.
Naturally, Manchester United is trying to offload the 24-year-old, but there aren’t many buyers.
Have we, however, just given the Red Devils a chance to survive?
Is Antony going to move to Besiktas?
The possibility of a Besiktas proposal, which reportedly originates from Ertan Suzgun, has sparked a tremendous amount of activity on social media.
It’s unclear where the information originally came from, though, despite the rumors. Suzgun’s X page does not have a tweet, but a Besiktas fan account called BJK Habers is frequently used as a source.
“Besiktas has initiated contact with Antony.” The club wishes to split apart. It says, “Antony wants to stay at Manchester United.”
This raises immediate questions about the validity of such assertions.
And there are the moneyed aspects of the transaction. With Besiktas’ record transfer fee of barely €11 million, United will want to recoup as much of the transfer fee as possible. A permanent move is therefore out of the question. With Antony’s €21.5 million estimated transfer value (ETV), the Red Devils probably want to pursue a lot more.
A loan, perhaps?
If Antony leaves on a temporary basis, United will want a big portion of his not insignificant salary reimbursed. According to ESPN, he makes €83,000 (£70,000) a week; however, some stories indicate he makes more money.
Besiktas could be able to reach such a figure. This summer, the Turkish team signed Ciro Immobile from Lazio for €3 million; the Italy international is reportedly paid €6 million a season. If ESPN’s estimate of Antony’s salary is correct, it comes to almost €3.6 million.
This implies that a loan could be feasible, but it would have required Antony to agree to relocate to Turkey, which would almost definitely be the end of his time at Old Trafford.