Manchester United signed Antony before the transfer window closed. Ajax Amsterdam was annoyed, but the price offered was difficult to refuse.
MU eyeing Antony throughout the summer transfer market. Until finally, the Red Devils can hook ahead of the deadline.
MU had to spend 100 million Euros to redeem the 22-year-old player. And Antony proved to be toxic, by immediately making a goal on his debut against Arsenal last weekend.
Ajax Amsterdam, through its sporting director Gerry Hamstra, admitted that the moment Manchester United signed Antony was actually not right. Because, Ajax is also busy building a team after being left behind by many of its stars, including Lisandro Martinez, who also moved to Manchester United.
However, the price offered by the Premier League giants is considered difficult to refuse. As a result, Ajax accepted MU’s offer.
“Manchester United’s timing was terrible. The last few days have been busier after Ajax are rebuilding the squad on a large scale, after the departure of many top class players,” Hamstra told de Telegraaf.
“It’s very difficult to leave our manager with such a void. We all think we are losing too many first-team players, who are always starters. We went into the summer with completely different expectations.”
“We want to keep the group together as much as possible, to be able to do well in the Champions League and continue to be successful. That’s also what we talked about with Alfred Schreuder [pelatih]. Of course we know there are some obstacles. But no one predicted our players would be bought with that kind of money,” he said.
Apart from Antony and Lisandro Martinez, Ajax Amsterdam has lost many stars. Sebastien Haller moved to Borussia Dortmund, Nicola Tagliafico to Lyon, and Ryan Gravenberch and Noussair Mazraoui were hijacked by Bayern Munich.
(then/nds)
