Man United exit ‘very close to being finalised’ as Atletico Madrid stun rivals in ‘luxury addition’

Man United exit ‘very close to being finalised’ as Atletico Madrid stun rivals in ‘luxury addition’

Man Utd are closing in on their first summer departure with Atletico Madrid ‘very close to completing a move’ for Antony, according to reports.

The Red Devils allowed the Brazil international to leave Old Trafford and move to Real Betis on loan until the end of the season in the winter transfer window.

Man Utd spent around £87m on Antony in the summer of 2022 but he made very little impact in his two-and-a-half seasons at Old Trafford.

Antony contributed just five Premier League goals and three assists in 62 appearances with the 25-year-old making no league starts this season before the Red Devils offloaded him to Betis.

But the Brazilian has been impressing in La Liga with the winger contributing six goals and two assists in 19 matches in all competitions for the Spanish outfit.

And now reports in Spain claim that Atletico Madrid are ‘very close to completing a move’ for Antony with the Spanish understood to have ‘submitted a €40 million offer to Manchester United to secure his services.’

Real Betis ‘hoped to negotiate a permanent purchase at the end of the season’ but rivals Atletico Madrid ‘has preemptively made a compelling offer that has convinced United’.

Atletico have been ‘monitoring the Brazilian player’s progress for weeks’ and manager Diego Simeone is ‘convinced that Antony can provide the speed and directness his team needs to make a competitive leap forward in both LaLiga and the Champions League’.