
Manchester United
Premier League • England
Man Utd embarrassingly told they ‘misspelled’ star’s name in transfer talks, with top-class upgrade suggested

Man Utd winger Antony
Manchester United have been torn apart for signing the wrong winger, with a transfer insider revealing the attacker they should have brought in instead of Antony.
Man Utd wanted to back Erik ten Hag during his first transfer window in the summer of 2022, and this saw them spend big money when raiding his former club Ajax for Antony and Lisandro Martinez. Antony cost a whopping £86million, making him the second-most expensive player in Man Utd’s history, while the deal for Martinez was worth £56.7m.
The Red Devils also spent a further £70m on Casemiro, with Tyrell Malacia and Christian Eriksen arriving at Old Trafford too.
The big-money deal for Antony in particular is often used as a stick to beat Ten Hag with. The Dutchman helped Antony thrive at Ajax, but he has not been able to get anywhere near that form in a Man Utd shirt.
So far, the Brazil international has managed just eight goals and three assists in 64 games. His record this term is particularly worrying, as he is yet to register a single goal contribution after 20 appearances.
The 23-year-old has left fans and pundits alike frustrated due to his style of play. And he has also been named as one of the main reasons why it has taken Rasmus Hojlund so long to score in the Premier League, as Antony often fails to put crosses into the box.
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Last week, The Athletic revealed that when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was in charge of Man Utd, club officials valued Antony at just £25m.
And when Ten Hag became Man Utd boss, it was communicated to Ajax that they would not be bidding more than £60m. But Ten Hag was desperate to reunite with Antony, which saw Man Utd spend that huge £86m fee.
Mohammed Kudus showing Antony up
While Antony has failed to make a significant impact on the Premier League since arriving from Ajax, Mohammed Kudus has shone during his short stint at West Ham United. Indeed, the versatile attacker has formed a great partnership with Lucas Paqueta and Jarrod Bowen and has notched nine goals in 24 games this campaign. That includes recent league strikes against Crystal Palace, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Man Utd themselves.
During an appearance on talkSPORT, transfer reporter Alex Crook has ridiculed Man Utd by suggesting they misspelled Kudus’ name when negotiating with Ajax, as they clearly should have captured him instead.
“It’s not always easy to make that step up from the Dutch league, just ask Antony, and actually, I do wonder if Manchester United misspelled Kudus’ name when they submitted an official bid for Antony because it looks like they’ve signed the wrong winger,” he said.
“He’s been terrific [Kudus] and other players who’ve come from the Eredivisie have floundered in the Premier League.”
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