Ajax’s negotiations with Chelsea forward Hakim Ziyech are currently ‘deadlocked’, which could scupper Antony’s efforts to join Manchester United.
That’s according to De Telegraaf and Voetbal International, who say the player’s potential return to the Amsterdam ArenA is ‘currently stuck’.
They report that Ajax were hopeful that Ziyech would return this summer, with the player indicating in talks with Klaas-Jan Huntelaar that he was ‘open to the idea’.
However, at the moment a transfer ‘seems far away’ because complications arose between the various parties. It is not off the table entirely but there is a difference between the two clubs and the player.
Ajax want to loan the Moroccan for one season by paying half of his current €10m a year salary as well as a rental fee but neither Chelsea nor Ziyech are keen on a loan.
The Blues instead want a transfer fee close to the €44m they paid Ajax in the summer of 2020 while Ziyech does not want to return to Stamford Bridge after a year away.
€40m is too much for Ajax, though, and the player’s high wages make it ‘almost impossible’ for them to reach a personal agreement with him.
They also don’t want to block up the pathway for the likes of Francisco Conceiçao, Steven Berghuis, Sontje Hansen and Amourricho van Axel Dongen.
Thus, they are ‘feverishly discussing’ whether to make a move or look at cheap alternatives. They could also decide to just keep Antony, who is being courted by Manchester United once again.
The Brazilian has ‘set his sights’ on the move to Manchester United and asked Ajax to accept the next offer that arrives from them.
However, the lack of movement with Ajax, and difficulties in that deal, is ‘bad news for Antony’ and the prospect of that deal happening.
It is made clear that it is ‘unlikely’ Ajax will hold on to him, particularly given the money being talked about, but the lack of movement on getting Ziyech back from Chelsea is a spanner in the works.
