Whenever Manchester United sign any player, an enormous amount of pressure ensues upon them to deliver. When they cost £86million, there's even more.
Unlike Paul Pogba, Harry Maguire and Romelu Lukaku, the club's previous budget-busting singings, Antony was relatively unknown before his name appeared on the back pages in the weeks following Erik ten Hag 's appointment at Old Trafford. Ten Hag was the man to bring the Brazilian winger to Ajax as a teenager in the summer of 2020, and the Dutch giants were well aware of the new Red Devils boss' desire for a reunion in Manchester.
Having already poached team-mate Lisandro Martinez for an hefty £57m, Ajax held firm at their asking price for Antony and the deal seemed off, as United turned their interest to Cody Gakpo - then of PSV Eindhoven and now of Liverpool. That was until back-to-back defeats to Brighton and Brentford, prompting the Old Trafford hierarchy to submit to Ajax's demands and break their all-time transfer record after the player went on strike to push for the move.
