Man Utd flop set for SHOCK move to European champions

Carlo Garganese

Updated: 7 Jan 2025 09:03 GMT
3 min read

Ruben Amorim, Manchester United, Charalampos Kostoulas, Bart van Rooij — © IMAGO/FootballTransfers

Manchester United flop Antony could be set for a shock move to Greek giants Olympiakos.

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That is according to The Sun's Greek expert Kostas Lianos, who reports that the UEFA Conference League champions are interested in signing Antony on loan this month.

Olympiakos plan to sign a winger in January after releasing former Chelsea star Willian, and Antony is being strongly considered.

The report adds that, as is already public knowledge, Man Utd are open to offloading Antony this month.

Antony has been a disaster ever since Erik ten Hag signed his former Ajax player for United in the summer of 2022 for €100 million.

The presence of Ten Hag at United meant that Antony was often protected - and favoured ahead of others - despite his dismal performances on the pitch.

The sacking of Ten Hag and arrival of Antony has only further hastened the inevitable exit of the Brazilian, who has continued to struggle to shine under the Portuguese boss.

United have set an asking price of €50m to sell this month but are well aware there is no chance they will receive such an offer.

Thus, United will sanction a loan move in January in the hope a positive second half of the season will increase his value and create interest for a permanent transfer in the summer of 2025.

They are hoping Antony will do enough elsewhere during the second half of the campaign to attract suitors and a permanent exit.

© IMAGO - Antony has been a disaster for Man Utd

Antony at Man Utd

Antony joined Man Utd from Ajax in the summer of 2022 for €100m and big things were expected of Erik ten Hag’s former pupil.

However, Antony has been an unmitigated disaster at Old Trafford. He bagged just four Premier League goals and two assists in his inaugural season and looked well short of the physical, mental and even technical levels required to play for such a big team.

Last season, Antony was even worse with just one Premier League goal and one assist.

Despite this, Ten Hag often persisted with Antony in the starting XI but things have gone from bad to worse for the Brazilian.

Antony has not started a game this season in the Premier League or Europa League, playing just 83 minutes of league football off the bench. He has one goal and just 356 minutes across 12 games in all competitions this season.