Liverpool want Ajax’s Antony, according to reports. Their contract situation risks gifting the player to Manchester United, however.
UOL reports that Liverpool want Antony. They also say that Manchester United want him, though – and that’s a problem. As we’ve talked about before, the impending arrival of Erik Ten Hag gives United a massive advantage in signing anyone from Ajax.
But it’s not their only advantage. Liverpool, after all, boast five elite forwards right now and three of them face uncertain futures.
Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mané and Roberto Firmino are all out of contract in 2023. Liverpool will try to get new deals for each – but there’s a chance we see departures this summer.
And that brings us back to Antony. Can Liverpool really push forward with a move for the Brazilian if they’re still unsure about their other forwards? We’re not so sure.
Liverpool want Antony
We believe that Antony would be a pretty fantastic Salah replacement on the right flank. He’s certainly nowhere near the Egyptian’s level just yet but long-term? There are few better options.
He could step in as an understudy of sorts, with Jurgen Klopp moving his forwards across the line to share out games. Only, we’re not sure there’s room for that unless someone leaves. Liverpool would need to wait and see what happens with their contract situation before making a move.
And on top of that, we’re not sure Antony is the one to go for if it’s Salah who leaves. Liverpool would almost certainly want a ready-made replacement who can play at the elite level from the get-go. Antony isn’t quite that yet.
United, then, hold the cards on this one. Liverpool must wait and see what their true situation is before committing to a new forward. Their old rivals don’t need to do that and could push through a pretty tempting move quite quickly.
It’s a lesson for the entire summer. The Reds can’t afford to waste time ahead of the transfer window if they want the right targets.