Erik ten Hag's first signing? Manchester United closing in on landing highly-rated Ajax star Antony - Report

Manchester United are actively looking to reinforce their squad after the arrival of new manager Erik ten Hag. United had a disappointing last season under former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who was sacked midway through their campaign before their struggles continued under interim manager Ralf Rangnick. United endured a disappointing campaign as they missed out on a spot in the top four in the Premier League last season to finish at the seventh spot on the table.

After an awful campaign last season, United are looking to strengthen several positions in their squad including attack, defence and the midfield. Among the key targets for Manchester United, this season is Ajax winger Antony, who had a sensational campaign for the Dutch club last season and looks set for a fresh challenge in his career.

Manchester United have been making significant progress in a bid to sign the highly-rated Brazilian midfielder and the 22-year-old can be Ten Hag's first signing at Old Trafford. As per a report in The Sun, United are closing in on Antony as Ten Hag's first signing of the summer in a transfer which could cost the club around 40 million pounds in fee.

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As per the report, United officials were in Amsterdam on Tuesday (June 21) to get the deal over the line with Dutch club Ajax. Antony was one of the best players for Ajax last season and Ten Hag is reportedly keen on reuniting with the highly-rated Brazilian forward at Old Trafford this year. 

Antony, who had joined Ajax from Sao Paulo in 2020, played an instrumental role in helping the club win successive Edervise titles in the last two seasons. Ajax had paid a sum of just 15 million to secure his signing from Sao Paolo and he turned out to be a hit at the Dutch club under Ten Hag scoring 12 goals and providing ten assists in 33 matches for the club last season.

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Antony is also reportedly keen on taking up a bugger challenge in his career and moving to United in a bid to help them plot a top-four challenge in the Premier League after a disappointing last season. Antony is not the only player United are targeting this summer with Barcelona's Frenkie de Jong and Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen on top of Ten Hag's priority list.