Less than a week remains of this summer’s transfer window but Manchester United are still busy, with Erik ten Hag keen on strengthening his squad before the deadline.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s future is still up in the air and the Portugal international could very well leave the club before the deadline and his departure would leave Ten Hag short of options.
Antony, the Ajax winger, is believed to be United’s number one priority for the remainder of the window but the Amsterdam club are proving difficult to convince.
According to the Manchester Evening News, United are confident of signing Antony before the transfer deadline on September 1 but are now considering re-signing Memphis Depay from Barcelona.
United have spent the entire summer trying to sign Frenkie de Jong from the same club but have ultimately admitted defeat in that pursuit and signed Casemiro from Real Madrid instead.
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As per the report, the interest in Memphis comes due to the shortage of options at Ten Hag’s disposal and his return to Old Trafford has not been ruled out.
The Dutchman has less than 12 months left on his contract in Catalunya and has been marginalised by manager Xavi Hernandez, with Robert Lewandowski and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang preferred.
SN’s verdict…
Memphis’ 18 months at United were as disastrous as they come. He was signed by Louis van Gaal and after impressing early on, he lost his way and never returned to the fold under his countryman. His misery was extended when Jose Mourinho sold him just six months into his tenure.
Since joining Lyon in 2017, he has improved greatly but is once again on the periphery at a big club. It remains to be seen whether Ten Hag is serious about bringing him back to United but in the long term, he’s not a player the club should throw all their chips at.
It’s fair to assume that it will all depend on whether Ronaldo stays or not and as things stand, the 37-year-old is not blessed with proposals from Champions League clubs.
