Man United finally make Antony breakthrough in bomb-squad saga
Antony looks set to finally seal his long-awaited move away from Manchester United following a major development in their talks with Real Betis.
Antony made an £82million [BBC] move to Man United from Ajax back in September 2022, but has massively struggled to adapt to English football in the years that have followed.
The Brazilian winger has scored just 12 times in 96 appearances for the Red Devils since his arrival, and he was loaned out to Real Betis in the recent January window after featuring in just eight league games in the first-half of last season.
He impressed at Betis as they reached the Conference League final against Chelsea, but did not do enough to force his way back into Ruben Amorim’s plans, and has been stuck in United’s ‘bomb squad’ alongside the likes of Jadon Sancho and Alejandro Garnacho over the last few months.
Bayer Leverkusen were linked with a move for Antony last month with Erik ten Hag wanting to reunite with him once again, while Benfica also enquired about Antony ahead of the deadline, but he now looks set to seal a return to La Liga.
Man United accept Real Betis’ bid for Antony
Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth (29 August) has reported via X that United have now accepted a bid from Real Betis to re-sign Antony in a permanent deal.
He states that the Brazil international has been given permission to travel to Seville to finalise the move, and it is now up to him and the La Liga club to agree personal terms.
Real Betis have long been linked with another move for Antony this summer, and so those personal terms should be no issue, but his move is still not guaranteed to happen with some final hurdles to overcome.
Moving back to Real Betis could be exactly what Antony needs
Football Insider verdict
Antony has never seemed likely to return to Amorim’s Red Devils squad this summer, and the signings of both Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha effectively ended any hopes he may have had of playing for the club again.
The Portuguese boss also rarely deploys wingers and prefers to use wing-backs, so the writing was already seemingly on the wall for Antony when he was appointed last November.
| Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| 26 | 9 | 5 |
He was a completely different player at Betis to the one that struggled for form at Old Trafford, with a number of brilliant goals scored as his positive impact led the Seville-based side from 12th to sixth by the end of the campaign, as well as the Conference League final.
Antony was labelled a “very special player” by Betis boss Manuel Pellegrini during his spell at the club, and it has always seemed like he had his heart set on a return.
Now that a move back is close, he will hope to continue firing in La Liga to be able to prove to Amorim and United supporters that he has got what it takes to shine in a top league, and he still has a long career ahead of him at just 25-years-old.