It will be a hell of a job for Ajax to keep Antony on board. The Brazilian can count on concrete interest from Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle United, claims UOL Esporte† United’s interest is easy to explain, as Antony can be reunited with Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford. Of the three clubs, Newcastle’s interest is said to be the least concrete. Antony still has a contract with Ajax until mid-2025, which means that interested clubs will probably have to dig into their pockets.
According to the Brazilian medium mentioned above, United and Liverpool are Antony’s preferred. The Mancunians have the advantage that Ten Hag will have the responsibility from next season. Ten Hag has worked with Antony at Ajax for the past two seasons. Liverpool’s interest has been going on for some time, it sounds like. Presumably the winger was already on Jürgen Klopp’s list when he still played for São Paulo. In 2019 in particular, Klopp was eager to bring Antony to Anfield. The attacker was then good for 6 goals in 45 official matches.
Despite the interest from United, Liverpool and Newcastle, no concrete offers have yet been received. However, the chance that Antony will stay with Ajax seems small. The winger could count on interest from various top clubs, including Barcelona, in recent months. Ajax seems to have already started the search for a replacement and would also be interested in Paulinho (Bayer Leverkusen) in addition to Steven Bergwijn. Antony is expected to generate between fifty and sixty million euros. Ajax watcher Mike Verweij van The Telegraph wondered aloud last week whether Ajax would do well to sell the Brazilian now.
“There is really an amazing amount of interest in Antony”, Verweij said in the podcast Kick-Off† “Paris Saint-Germain also seems to be interested, but there are more clubs that want him. Ajax is in a very luxurious position in that regard. You now have to make the decision: do we sell him for sixty million or more, or are we waiting for the World Cup? Brazil has great papers to become world champions. Then he might be worth 100 million. But I think they want the money now.” Antony looks good on Tite. In recent international matches, he could invariably count on an invitation from the departing national team coach of the Brazilian team.
São Paulo is also following the developments around Antony with above-average interest. The Brazilian club negotiated a significant resale percentage of twenty percent when selling to Ajax. Ajax paid São Paulo 15.75 million euros, an amount that could rise to a maximum of 21.75 million through bonuses. The resale percentage is calculated on the difference between the purchase amount and the sale amount. Antony has been sidelined at Ajax for some time. The left leg returned injured from international obligations at the end of March and for that reason missed, among other things, the cup final against PSV and the battle for the championship.