Manchester United had a busy deadline day as the summer transfer window slammed shut on Ruben Amorim’s new-look squad.
The Red Devils pushed through a flurry of exits, announcing the loan departures of Rasmus Hojlund to Napoli, Jadon Sancho to Aston Villa and Harry Amass to Sheffield Wednesday.
There were two permanent deals done with goalkeeper Senne Lammens arriving from Royal Antwerp to improve the Red Devils’ options between the sticks and Antony finally departing Old Trafford.
Dream move came true
Antony endured a torrid time at United after being signed from Ajax for mega money by Erik ten Hag. Having failed to nail down a place under his Portuguese successor, the Brazilian was shipped out on loan to Real Betis in January where he hit an incredible run of form.
Neither the 25-year-old nor the Spanish club made any secret of aiming for a reunion this summer, but a deal was always going to be difficult due to the finances involved.
After months of back and forth, during which Antony declined numerous offers from elsewhere and Betis indicated they would only be able to manage another loan, a permanent sale was finally agreed.
The clubs settled on a €25m fee with a 50% sell-on clause, which could prove useful if Antony picks up where he left off at the Seville side.
A difficult deal
It was a relief to have the Antony saga wrapped up and one of the key figures involved in negotiations, Betis sporting director Manu Fajardo, has explained just how difficult it was.
Speaking to El Desmarque, he said: “The truth is that despite my age, which is young – I’ve been in the profession for 15 years now – it’s been the most difficult signing I’ve made in my career, because we had to negotiate with a very big club.
“Not long ago, they paid €100 million for him; he had interest from many clubs worldwide, but with skill, sacrifice, and a lot of enthusiasm, we were able to do it.”
Much was made over the course of the summer of Betis having to act within their means and not smash their finances just to get the transfer finished.
Fajardo said: “The club hasn’t gone into debt at all. It’s generating capital gains, growing sportingly, and with the capital increase. We always said that if players like Antony came to Betis, it would always be with the club’s financial stability as a priority, and that’s what has happened.”
Featured image Octavio Passos via Getty Images
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Joe Ponting
Joe has spent more than half his life writing about football and all of it following United. As a child he told a doctor his name was ‘Paul Scholes’, but could never pick a pass like him no matter how much he tried.
