Man Utd are hoping to include a Real Betis player in any deal they strike for Antony in the summer transfer window, according to reports.
The Red Devils allowed Antony to leave Old Trafford in the January transfer window after making no Premier League starts under Erik ten Hag or Ruben Amorim this season.
Antony has struggled to make an impact in his two and a half seasons at Man Utd and the last few months on loan at Betis have seen him reinvigorated.
The Brazil international has five goals and two assists in 17 matches in all competitions with the Man Utd loanee contributing towards Real Betis’ push towards potential Champions League qualification.
Manuel Pellegrini’s side are now just one point off the Champions League places in La Liga and Antony has played a key role in their positive end to the season.
Real Betis are keen on bringing him back to the Estadio Benito Villamarin in the summer on a permanent transfer after turning around Antony’s career.
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The Spanish side’s sporting director Manu Fajardo said recently: “Here, we work on devalued players, analysing data from players who have reached very high moments and peaks, but who for various reasons have significantly decreased their performances.
“In Antony’s case, he has performed since minute one at Betis.
“The player quickly integrated into the project and has demonstrated spectacular performances since his arrival.”
Real Betis star Isco added: “We hope that Antony will remain at the club, but in football, nothing can be taken for granted. We need to do crowdfunding to bring Antony in!”
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And now reports in Spain claim that Man Utd have ‘asked’ for one of Antony’s team-mates at Betis in order to do a permanent deal with the Spanish side.
Man Utd ‘proposes a swap deal’ that could see the need for Real Betis to fork out a huge fee with the Red Devils keen on bringing Jesus Rodriguez to Old Trafford.
The report adds:
‘It’s only logical that they’re already doing everything possible to retain him, as he’s due to return to Manchester United in June, a club that still retains his federation rights. The problem is that it’s a truly complicated and expensive transaction.
‘Because we mustn’t forget that the Red Devils paid €95 million for the Brazilian international, which they aren’t willing to give away. They’re demanding compensation of around €50 million to finally open the door for him to leave. This is an amount Heliópolis can’t afford, but the English club is willing to offer a significant discount if they include Jesús Rodríguez in the negotiations.
‘Old Trafford has also been pleasantly surprised by the performances of the promising 19-year-old winger, and they have the Betis star on their radar.
‘The big question Betis will have to answer is whether they’re willing to sacrifice Jesús, who many believe could be a legend like Joaquín Sánchez, in order to retain Antony. Because Pellegrini has made it very clear throughout that he hopes to continue counting on Rodríguez for much longer.’
