Erik ten Hag has confirmed Manchester United will only sign "the right players" as they attempt to bring in Antony from Ajax.
The Red Devils will reportedly prioritise singing Antony, 22, before the transfer window closes on September 1. The Brazil international played under Ten Hag at Ajax last season, scoring 12 goals and proving 10 assists in 33 games to help them win the Eredivisie title.
Ajax do not want to sell Antony and have already rejected a £72.3million bid from United. It's believed he wants to move to Old Trafford and has handed in a transfer request, with showdown talks between his representatives and the club taking place on Friday.
Ajax have already lost one player to Ten Hag this summer - Lisandro Martinez, who is their reigning Player of the Year. It's claimed the Dutch champions will consider offers of around €100m (£84m) or above for Antony in the last few days of the current window.
Ten Hag was asked about the club's transfer policy at a press conference on Friday afternoon. The Red Devils are preparing to take on Premier League rivals Southampton at St Mary's on Saturday afternoon, with new signing Casemiro expected to make his debut.
"We need players but we need the right players," explained Ten Hag. "The whole transfer window, we are happy with what we did until now, but the bar has to be high."
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United have signed four players this summer. As well as Martinez and Casemiro, they've brought in defender Tyrell Malacia from Feyenoord and Christian Eriksen from Brentford. It's believed they want another attacker after scoring just three goals so far this term.
In terms of departures, Ten Hag doesn't expect Phil Jones, Axel Tuanzebe or Brandon Williams to leave the club this month. "We are talking about players who are not available," said the manager. "I don't think they will go out in this window."
United picked up their first Premier League win on Monday evening as they defeated Liverpool 2-1 at Old Trafford. Yet they've still only got three points from their first three games after losing to Brighton and Brentford, the latter being a 4-0 defeat.
"The spirit was already good but now it is even better," added Ten Hag. "But it's only one game so we have to build further, we have to develop and I think everyone is aware of that."
Anthony Martial will not be involved against Southampton due to an Achilles injury he suffered in training. "Casemiro is fit, he did all the training sessions," continued Ten Hag. "He [Martial] came out with a problem with his achillies. I cannot tell a prognosis, how long it takes. I hope he will be available for the next game."
He added: "We need to have a high standard. It's a demand to the group. Now they see what the reward is, so we have to match the runs in and out of possession. We need runs and movement if you want to dictate a game."
