Manchester United have been desperately trying to offload their big-earners this January in their bid to make room for reinforcements with Ruben Amorim in urgent need of help.
While an exit for Casemiro seems off the table, Antony is inching closer to a loan exit to join Real Betis after the Spanish side beat Villareal for his signature.
It will be a straight loan and while the Red Devils will not earn a loan fee, they will end up saving a lot on his wages. Also, United have included a secret penalty clause which could also fetch them a decent amount.
The Brazilian currently earns £200,000 gross per week (via capology) and the La Liga side are likely to pay around half of that, which will amount to £2,400,000 during his loan spell, which means United will save an equivalent amount.
Antony’s final game in red
According to Onda Cero, both clubs are exchanging documents and the deal is expected to go through after United’s Europa League tie against Rangers.
Amorim wants the ex-Ajax star in the matchday squad for Thursday’s tie and he will board the plan to Seville a day after the game, which is likely to be his “last game for United”.
“Betis have signed Antony on loan until the end of the season with no option to buy. The Betis club are exchanging documents with Manchester United, whose coach wanted to be able to count on the Brazilian for a key match for the ‘Red Devils’ with a view to achieving direct qualification for the round of 32 of the Europa League.
“At Betis, they hope that Antony will take the plane to Seville the day after the Old Trafford match to join Pellegrini’s training as soon as possible, who will announce on Friday the list of players called up for his team, which is heavily burdened by injuries, for Mallorca.”
Will join Real Betis after Rangers tie
This indicates that the 24-year-old could start against the Scottish giants with United not having too many options at wingback currently.
The 20-time English league champions will hope that Antony has a great loan spell with Betis so that he can maximise his market value in the process.
United can then sell him for a higher amount in the summer. The winger’s current market value stands at a mere €20 million as per Transfermarkt.
The Old Trafford side had paid an astonish £82 million for his signature in Erik ten Hag’s first season and it is safe to say that the Brazilian has been one of the worst buys in the club’s recent history.
Feature image Shaun Botterill via Getty Images
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Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
