Antony offered spectacular Man Utd escape route

Robin Bairner

• 18 Jan 2024 07:00 GMT
• 2 min read

Manchester United winger Antony has been given the opportunity of an attractive loan exit from the club, with Barcelona targeting a move for the Brazil international, according to reports in Spain.

Antony was a major target of Man Utd boss Erik ten Hag in the summer of 2022, but after the Red Devils panicked and bought him for €95 million, he has failed to live up to his price tag.

During his first season with the club, he mustered eight goals and three assists, but so far his second campaign has been little short of a nightmare, with the 23-year-old, who is under contract until 2027, failing to register either a goal or an assist in any competition.

Now Barcelona are weighing up the possibility of a loan move for the former Ajax attacker in a bid to give them more offensive options in the latter part of the campaign, according to El Nacional.

It is stated that Barca, who previously wanted the player before he moved to Man Utd, have rekindled their interest in the player and want to broker a loan deal.

Barcelona face financial constraints

Barcelona’s current financial position makes a permanent move impossible, yet their wage bill is also under pressure, so it is unclear how Antony could fit into their current structure and be successfully registered without someone else leaving first.

Raphinha is a player that Xavi’s side are known to be keen to offload to the Premier League, with Man Utd one of the teams thought to be most interested in the Leeds winger, and such a move could potentially unlock a deal for Antony.

The prospect of Barcelona offloading the ex-Leeds star, though, is waning as Newcastle are also distancing themselves from a potential move in what was described as a "terrible" blow for the Camp Nou side.

Man Utd, meanwhile, have already loaned out Donny van de Beek and Jadon Sancho this month, but if Antony completing a hat-trick of January deals is an attractive prospect, it is also a distant one.