Ajax forward Antony has been left out of his side’s Eredivisie clash against Sparta Rotterdam as he seeks to reunite with his former boss Erik ten Hag at Manchester United.
Antony – the Dutch side’s star player last season – is hopeful of rekindling his strong relationship with Ten Hag amid reports that the player's representatives recently travelled to Europe in order to help negotiate a deal earlier this window.
United, who will take their summer spending through the £121million barrier with the £60million capture of Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro, are willing to continue their spending spree with the acquisition of Antony being their next major transfer objective this summer.
The Premier League club lodged an €80million (£68million) bid for the forward last week, which was rejected by the Dutch giants – despite this being the figure they had quoted for United earlier in the transfer window.
Ajax’s stance had appeared to be a signal to ward off interest from United but their interest has been rekindled – prompted by their disastrous start to the Premier League campaign, in which they lost against Brighton and Brentford with meek performances.
Antony was frustrated by his club’s refusal to come to the negotiating table with United and subsequently sat out two days of training with the club. A report in De Telegraaf underlines how he is now trying to take matters into his own hands by forcing through a move to Old Trafford.
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The 22-year-old has been excluded from Ajax’s squad against Sparta this weekend, after The Times reported that his club had placed a fresh €100 million (£84.9 million) valuation on him.
Antony played 33 games last season for the Dutch giants, where he scored 12 goals and provided 10 assists before missing the final segment of the campaign through injury. He also played nine games in the South American Qualifiers for the World Cup for the Brazilian national team and scored two goals.
Cristiano Ronaldo wanting to leave United just one year after his return to Old Trafford and the 37-year-old is the only player who has not reported to the club's pre-season training this month due to 'family reasons'. That follows on from Edinson Cavani being among a glut of first-team exits from the club this summer – hastening the need to bring in a new forward.
