Manchester United are poised to sign Ajax attacking star Antony while PSV Eindhoven expect them to return with a move for Cody Gakpo before transfer deadline day.
United are set to agree a €100million (£84million) deal to land Antony, 22, who has been top of Erik ten Hag' s shopping list all summer. The Brazilian has been pushing for the move and desperately wants to leave Amsterdam after two impressive campaigns. Mirror Football exclusively reported that the Brazil international is now on strike at his current club.
On Friday, the player in question spoke about Ajax's treatment of his situation in a bombshell interview. "Since February of this year, my agents came to Amsterdam to inform Ajax of my desire to leave the club to face new challenge and that some interested clubs would arrive and with them, certainly a great offer," Antony explained to transfer reporter Fabrizio Romano.
Gakpo grabbed 12 goals and 13 assists in 27 league games last year and has attracted Premier League attention while the 23-year-old has spoken directly about United’s interest in his signature, with Ten Hag familiar with his qualities during their time together in the Eredivisie.
PSV appear to have already lined up a replacement for Gakpo, as per De Telegraaf, with a deal in place to sign Aston Villa 's versatile forward Anwar El Ghazi - who spent the second half of last season on loan at Everton after falling out of favour under Steven Gerrard.
Gakpo is another wide forward who has been on United’s radar and while no bid has been submitted to PSV as yet, the Dutch club are bracing themselves for an approach. Indeed, the Dutch international was quizzed about his side’s 6-1 win at Excelsor on Sunday, in which he found the net.
Have Your Say! Which players should Man Utd try to sign this week? Tell us what you think here.
PSV failed to reach the Champions League group stages and are in a weak negotiating position on the forward, who they will allow to leave for the right price. Gakpo told ESPN on Sunday, when asked on Antony being on the verge of joining United, as per ed.nl : "That is nice for him, but it has no influence on me."
The PSV forward was then pressed about what his own future held, specifically in relation to the links to United, to which he added: "I can't say anything about it at the moment. As I said before: the whole picture has to be right. It is a puzzle and in the coming days I will see which puzzle fits best. For me it is certainly not a punishment to stay at PSV. I'll hear about it all in the coming days."
Ten Hag confirmed following the Red Devils' 1-0 victory over Southampton on Saturday that United will be working right up until the end of deadline day in order to get deals over the line. "We stick to the plan," the Dutchman declared. "If a good player is available we will strike. We will be alert until the last second of the window."
