While Manchester United fans have been irritated by the club's inactivity in the transfer market bar a very prolonged pursuit for Frenkie de Jong, it seems that the club have been working on a shortlist for Erik ten Hag. Though fixing the midfield is the priority, the team also needs upgrades in other positions as well.
Though Jadon Sancho was signed for £73m last summer to play on the right-hand side, over the course of the season it has become increasingly apparent that he is much better suited to the left. This means that for the third season in a row, a right-winger is on the agenda for United.
The Manchester Evening News understands that the player that has been targeted for this position is Ajax's Antony. The Brazilian was one of Ajax's key players last season and at 22 years old would likely be the club's right-winger for years to come.
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Some United fans however are far from impressed with this link. This may be due to Leeds' Raphinha being touted by many as the player who Ten Hag and John Murtough should be targeted after an impressive campaign in the Premier League that helped his club avoid relegation.
But most are focused on Antony's return in the Eredivisie last season; eight goals and four assists. Some fans are doubting whether a player who has put up these numbers in a dominant and free-firing Ajax team could do a job for United in the Premier League, but really there is no reason to doubt the Brazilian's ability.
While it's true that Antony only returned 12 goal contributions this season, he did suffer two injuries that meant his minutes were heavily truncated. The latter was an ankle injury which kept him out of Ajax's final push for the title and when you watched Ten Hag's team without him, you could feel his absence as the attack looked disjointed.
Twelve goals in 1,735 minutes isn't bad for a 22-year-old, and this isn't even factoring in his six-goal contributions in seven Champions League games nor his four in the latter stages of the Dutch Cup (the final of which he was injured for and where Ajax were unable to get a result).
In some ways his performance is reminiscent of Pep Guardiola's comments on Jack Grealish, his underlying statistics are good and he is doing all the right things. Having him in the team is a net positive because of his ability to isolate wingers and completely cut them out of the game, providing space for his teammates such as Noussair Mazraoui.
He may be raw, but United are not in a position to sign five ready-made superstars this season, they're lucky that they are even in with a chance of signing De Jong. Antony is a player that Ten Hag knows well and when you watch him he is the definition of a handful.
He's a player who can get the crowd on their feet with a silky skill move of a driving run and most importantly he fights for the team. And personally, that makes him an asset for a United team who have been missing that edge down the right for years.
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