Manchester United’s Europa League game against Rangers on Thursday saw late drama as Ruben Amorim’s side clinched a 2-1 win at Old Trafford thanks to Bruno Fernandes’ injury-time goal.
Before the game, news broke of Antony’s impending loan move to Real Betis and how the Portuguese wanted the Brazilian to be available for the Thursday night encounter.
However, the head coach decided to play Amad Diallo as the right wingback and the ex-Ajax star did not even come on as a substitute.
As revealed by ABC Seville, it was expected that the 24-year-old would be departing Manchester on Friday to join up with his new teammates.
Antony was supposed to leave for Real Betis on Friday
However, Diario de Sevilla (via Sport Witness) have provided a contradictory update regarding Antony’s loan move. They have claimed that Amorim is blocking the loan exit and will not be giving his green light till INEOS secure a replacement.
“This shortage of attackers, precisely, is what motivates Amorim not to unblock Antony’s definitive departure.”
The Brazil international has mainly been used as a wingback under the former Sporting Lisbon boss, but he can also play further forward if needed.
Both Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford are likely to depart this month, which might leave Amorim light up front.
Amorim blocking loan exit
The coach is also desperate for reinforcements in the wingback position as both Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui are natural full-backs and lack the attacking thrust required to operate in the 3-4-3 system.
Patrick Dorgu has been identified as the perfect recruit but so far, Lecce have been playing hardball over his price and are trying to take advantage of Napoli’s entry to try and fleece the Red Devils.
It makes sense for Amorim to try and keep a versatile player can Antony onboard till then but he has been limited to only three starts this season with none of them coming in the Premier League.
It is clear to see that he does not have the required quality to operate in either role and Amorim knows that pretty well. This might just be a ploy from the coach to put pressure on the co-owners so that they hurry up and bring Dorgu in.
Feature image Paul Ellis 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
