Manchester United new signing Antony could be in line to make his debut for the Premier League side in their weekend clash against Arsenal.
The winger arrived at Old Trafford from Ajax after the Red Devils invested €95m plus bonuses to secure his services. On August 26th, De Volkskrant reported the Dutch club’s CEO, Edwin van der Sar, was leading negotiations with Manchester United for Antony.
Although the former Manchester United star didn’t specifically mention Antony, Van der Sar has admitted that he had a key role in the Eredivisie side’s summer business.
“No, I wouldn’t call it nice, but interesting, challenging and fascinating. Some love it, but I benefit from peace and regularity,” he told Ajax TV, relayed by Voetbal International.
“My role has been a bit more intensive, especially with the big transfers. But that is also not very different from Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt. It is ultimately a team effort to complete a transfer, both incomings and outgoings.”
The Brazil international skipped several training sessions with the Eredivisie side to force a move to Manchester United. Ajax manager Albert Schreuder wasn’t pleased with this.
Van der Sar admitted Ajax initially had no plans to sell the South American and also made it clear the attacker’s behaviour had no impact on the Amsterdam club’s decision to part ways with him.
“It’s no different than normal. We received an offer from Manchester United via email. We have responded to that. The first time it was ‘no’. We weren’t planning to sell Antony,” the chief explained.
“But his behaviour certainly did not play a role, we must also strongly condemn that. The boys are busy putting in a performance with 22 players. Then you really can’t have someone who shows that behaviour.
“Eventually the amounts reach a point where it causes a reversal. Football should be the number one, but Ajax are also an organisation. We would have preferred to keep Antony, but we don’t live in that perfect world.”
