Man Utd flop Antony could be playing for a European giant next season

Manchester United flop Antony has been offered a shock escape route from Old Trafford in the summer, with his fine form for Real Betis drawing interest from a European giant.

Antony joined United in a mammoth £86m move from Ajax, but managed just 12 goals and five assists in 96 appearances for the Red Devils before leaving for Betis on loan last month.

As part of the agreement Betis have agreed to pay 84 per cent of Antony’s £200,00-per-week salary, but are already reaping the reward of that significant outlay.

The Brazilian was MVP on his debut for Betis in the 2-2 draw with Athletic Bilbao and was once again picked out as the top performer in his new club’s 3-2 defeat to Celta Vigo last weekend.

And those displays have caught the eye of Bayern Munich according to reports in Spain.

The Bundesliga giants have reportedly ‘already started talks with Manchester United to explore Antony’s signing’ and are ‘leading the race for his signing’ in the summer.

The report adds:

‘Bayern’s interest in Antony responds to the possible departure of two key pieces in his attack. Both Leroy Sané and Kingsley Coman could leave the Allianz Arena at the end of the season, which would force the German club to reinforce the sides. In this sense, the Brazilian presents himself as an ideal candidate to occupy that position, since he has experience in the elite and a game profile that would fit perfectly in the Bundesliga.

‘Manchester United, for its part, paid 95 million euros to Ajax for Antony in 2022, but its irregularity in the Premier League has led the club to consider its sale. Now, the “Red Devils” would be willing to part with the player for about 50 million euros, a figure that Bayern could assume without too many problems.

‘Negotiations have begun, and in Munich they look favorably on the arrival of the Brazilian. If he continues to shine at Betis, his signing with Bayern could be finalized in the coming months.’

Antony’s agent Junior Pedroso confirmed his client will return to United in the summer after the end of his Betis loan.

He said: “When we started thinking about and planning Antony’s temporary transfer, we knew it would be a short-term project.

“Our concern would be for him and his family to adapt quickly and to find a style of play that would enhance his characteristics.”

He added: “Yes, I can confirm there’s no buy option clause in the contract. So Antony will be a Manchester United player from July.

“Antony respects Amorim a lot, for sure. But we understood in January that his moment at the club was not good, so Manchester United also understood that leaving on loan was the best way for Antony to recover his best form.”

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Amorim claims the “pressure” was too much for Antony at Old Trafford when asked why both he and Scott McTominay – who moved to Napoli in the summer – are thriving away from the club.

“Sometimes it’s like that, it can happen in any club,” Amorim said

“This is a club with a lot of pressure. At this kind of club you have to have a base of a team to put the younger players, talented players that came from abroad, that come to a team that has one strong base that can help them to cope with that pressure.

“We don’t have that in this moment so it’s really hard on them and you feel it on [Patrick] Dorgu, he was a little bit nervous in the first moment.

“But if you are playing better as a team, you have a strong core that can cope with this, are winning games and are really strong in the games like it’s supposed to be at this kind of club, it will be more easy for these kind of players to be free to play their football.”