Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag is increasingly confident of securing deals to land his former players Frenkie de Jong and Antony at Old Trafford.
Barcelona midfielder De Jong has already discussed a potential transfer on the phone, with the United boss outlining the role the player would enjoy under him at Old Trafford. Central midfield is an area United need to bolster their options ahead of several key departures this term. De Jong has been identified as the leading candidate for the club in the position and the Dutchman is at the top of the Red Devils' shortlist of summer transfer targets.
Antony is another leading target for Ten Hag who is keen to reunite with the 22-year-old - Ajax's star player last season. United are in pole position to land the Brazilian given his strong relationship with the Red Devils boss at the Amsterdam Arena.
United have been handed a fresh boost in their pursuit of Antony with his agents travelling to Europe in order to negotiate their client's future. That is outlined by a report in Goal Brasil, which claims £51million (€60m) could be enough to take the Brazilian forward to Old Trafford.
The report continues that the player's representatives jetted into Europe 'to accelerate' a move to United, which could even be 'concluded' by the trip. It adds that Antony's future is set to be decided in these 'decisive days' of negotiations.
It is reported how United and Ajax share strong relations at board room level and this would help smooth over any deal. Ten Hag's departure to the Amsterdam club last month to seal his early arrival at United being one such amicable agreement.
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While the deal would represent a significant windfall for Ajax, Antony's former club Sao Paulo would be entitled to 20 per cent of any transfer fee alongside 2.7 per cent of a development fee for the player. That would be in addition to the £12million (€15m) they received in the deal that took the forward to Ajax in 2020.
Antony played 33 games last season for the Dutch giants, where he scored 12 goals and provided 10 assists before missing the final segment of the campaign through injury. He also played nine games in the South American Qualifiers for the World Cup for the Brazilian national team and scored two goals.
The Brazilian is primarily a right-sided player, which would add balance to United's attack with Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford primarily deployed on the left. Anthony Elanga also recently claimed that he preferred to play on the left rather than on the right, where he had been utilised by former United interim boss Ralf Rangnick.
