Manchester United are interested in bringing Ajax forward Antony to Old Trafford this summer in what represents a change in transfer strategy from the club.
What's the story?
According to ESPN, United have switched their transfer focus to a more versatile attacker rather than a traditional forward after failing to sign striker Darwin Nunez.
Antony represents that change and manager Erik ten Hag and director of football director John Murtough are keen to sign the player.
The Brazilian is also interested in linking up with the Red Devils, however, Ajax are demanding around €80m (£69m) for the player, despite him only being rated at £31.5m.
This could prove to be a problem unless the two clubs reach a compromise, which is what many at Old Trafford will be hoping.
He's an upgrade on Rashford
As a winger, one player he would be in direct competition with at Old Trafford is Marcus Rashford. The 24-year-old is Manchester born and bred and has risen through the famous United academy to become an important player for the club.
However, like many players last season, he underperformed and hasn't ruled out moving away from the club before. Regardless if he were to leave or stay, Antony would be an upgrade.
Rashford will remain a starter in the hearts of many United fans, but realistically, unless he finds another level next season, the club need to be aiming higher if they want to return to winning ways.
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He scored just five times in 32 appearances in all competitions last season, a world away from the 21 he netted in the 2019/20 campaign.
He seems a shadow of his former self at present, so bringing in Antony would provide a better alternative and good competition that could perhaps spur the Englishman on.
In just 33 appearances last season he was directly involved in 22 goals and at 22 years old has already been capped for Brazil six times.
They are impressive numbers, and you may say it's because the Eredivisie is an easier league, but he was producing top performances in the Champions League as well.
He's been described as "wonderful" by Dutch scout Piet de Visser and you can see why.
When you compare them both directly, Antony triumphs in many areas - averaging 1.41 shots on target per 90 minutes compared to Rashford's 0.87.
He also made four times more crosses than Rashford over the course of last season. United need to do everything they can to secure this deal and reunited Antony with Ten Hag.
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