Man Utd flop ‘delighted’ to accept Barcelona loan ahead of Ten Hag ‘firing’; Red Devils in ‘advanced talks’
Barcelona are keen on a loan deal for Man Utd winger Antony as Erik ten Hag looks to ship the winger out this winter, according to reports.
The Red Devils are set for big changes once Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s deal to buy 25 per cent of the club goes through with Premier League ratification expected next month.
British billionaire Ratcliffe will then take over footballing operations with the INEOS founder desperate to appoint a new sporting director at the Premier League outfit.
Man Utd have faced criticism over the last decade about their poor recruitment with very few transfer successes since Sir Alex Ferguson left the club in 2013.
Ten Hag has come under pressure this season with Man Utd regressing after a positive first campaign under his tutelage, in which they reached an FA Cup final, won the League Cup and secured a top-four Premier League finish.
The Dutchman’s side are already out of the League Cup and Europe this term with Man Utd currently seventh in the Premier League, eight points off fourth-placed Arsenal, who have a game in hand on the Red Devils.
READ MORE: Five Man Utd ‘hard truths’ amid talk of Ten Hag sack and Mourinho return to Old Trafford
One of the criticisms of Ten Hag has been his failure to get the best out of new signings he brought in, including Antony, who the Dutchman has worked with before at Ajax.
And now Spanish publication Nacional insists Antony – who was Ten Hag’s ‘personal bet’ – is interesting Barcelona after ‘his first year could be classified as disastrous’.
Antony, who has yet to provide a goal or an assist this season, could now leave Man Utd after just 18 months after the club’s ‘patience has completely run out’.
Ten Hag is ‘very unhappy with him’ and now Barcelona ‘have appeared’ and are ‘very seriously interested in welcoming him’ to the Camp Nou in January.
Antony was previously ‘on their agenda’ when he was at Ajax with Barcelona expecting that the Brazilian ‘would land at the Camp Nou on loan’ and a deal is promising if they can negotiate ‘favorable conditions’.
Barcelona ‘cannot pay any significant amount’ for a permanent transfer and Nacional add that the ‘only option for him to be able to wear Barcelona is for him to come on loan’.
It is understood that Antony ‘would be delighted to try his luck’ at the Camp Nou with Xavi’s side struggling in fourth place in La Liga this term.
And Man Utd could be saying goodbye to another winger soon too with Football Insider claiming that Facundo Pellistri is set to join Granada and that the Spanish side ‘in advanced talks’ with the Red Devils over a loan move until the end of the season.
Granada ‘are in pole position to secure the winger on loan for the remainder of the season after holding further talks with Man United overnight and in the last 24 hours’ and Ten Hag has ‘told Pellistri that he will be allowed to depart the club this month in order to get regular playing time’.
