Man Utd breakthrough after ‘agreement in principle’ struck for £86m star’s transfer

Steve Pearson 26 Aug 2025 6:55 PM

Ruben Amorim, next to the words Deal Close with Close in green, and Manchester United badge - copyright TEAMtalk

Manchester United are primed to offload one of the most disappointing signings in the club’s history and mercifully for all involved, the deal being finalised could lead to a permanent exit.

It’s fair to say Man Utd’s hit-rate in the transfer market, especially regarding their big-money buys, has been suspect over the past decade.

Few would argue the likes of Paul Pogba or Romelu Lukaku proved value for money, while Antony, Jadon Sancho and Rasmus Hojlund can only be classified as flops.

Today’s update regards Antony whose record at Old Trafford stands at just 17 goal contributions in 96 appearances.

The Brazilian – who cost a package totalling £86m when signed from Ajax three summers ago – has no future at Man Utd.

Antony was loaned to Real Betis mid-way through last season where he rediscovered his prior good form from the Netherlands.

Betis have strived to re-sign Antony all summer and per The Telegraph, they’ve finally made a breakthrough.

Antony returning to Real Betis

Their report declared ‘there is an agreement in principle for Antony to head back to Betis.’

The deal tentatively agreed upon, per the report, is a loan that contains an obligation to buy.

Our own sources at TEAMtalk have been informed it is an option to buy that can become an obligation if certain conditions are met. In other words, a conditional obligation to buy.

How much the conditional obligation to buy will be worth was not made clear in the piece.

Antony was among five Man Utd first-teamers who were not included in first-team training at the beginning of pre-season.

The others were Tyrell Malacia, Alejandro Garnacho, Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford.

As yet, Rashford (Barcelona – loan with option to buy for €35m) is the only one of that quintet to depart, though Antony could soon raise that number to two.