Revealed: How Man United’s 150m p/w second signing affects potential Antony transfer

Manchester United’s prospective transfer for Lisandro Martinez could make Ajax less likely to sell Antony this summer.

That’s according to Fabrizio Romano in his exclusive column for CaughtOffside via Substack, who says Manchester United is close to signing Martinez.

Antony’s future is less clear for the time being, with the Red Devils interested in the Brazilian winger, though much depends on what happens with Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ajax may be wary about losing two outstanding players to United in the same summer, especially after manager Erik ten Hag moved from Amsterdam to Manchester at the end of last season.

“Right now, Manchester United and Ajax are merely negotiating for Lisandro.” Antony is on the Red Devils’ list, but no official bids have been made. After agreeing to the Martinez deal, Ajax will have less need to sell players, which will assist them to strive to keep Antony,” Romano added.

“United’s interest in Antony is also heavily influenced by what happens with Cristiano Ronaldo.” They intend to keep the Portuguese forward – Ten Hag still regards him as a world-class player and wishes to build around him – but will wait to see how the situation develops before redoubling their efforts to sign Antony.

“Ajax and United have a solid relationship, but the Martinez sale puts the Dutch team in a strong negotiation position because I doubt they’ll be delighted to lose their manager and two key players to Old Trafford in the same summer.”