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Ruben Amorim’s first Manchester United training session threw up a lot of surprises with the new head coach seemingly sticking to his guns with regards to adhering to his favoured 3-4-3 approach.
Apart from young faces, the Portuguese also tweaked the positioning of certain players, with Antony preferred in the right wing-back role.
Signed as a right winger by Erik ten Hag, the Brazilian has endured a nightmarish spell at Old Trafford and if he cannot impress the Portuguese coach in this new position, his future could lie away from Manchester.
There does not seem to be place for him in the attacking areas of the pitch and the player has already indicated that he will seek an exit should his minutes not improve.
Antony’s future
United are expected to take a huge financial hit on their initial £86 million investment but not many teams have come forward with a concrete bid.
The Red Devils are said to be open to swap deals as well with The Peoples Person recently relaying that the club could use the 24-year-old to land Brazilian wonderkid Lorran of Flamengo.
That is not the only exchange deal being planned with Defensa Central claiming that the 20-time English league champions could offer Antony to Real Madrid and ask for Turkish sensation Arda Guler in return.
The 19-year-old has started only three games this season and is reportedly disappointed with his lack of minutes and United could try and take advantage of the situation.
Guler has started eight games since his summer move in 2023 and Los Blancos are aware that quite a few teams could pounce should they make the Turkiye international available for a transfer.
Guler-Antony swap deal
However, they have no intention of moving the former Fenerbahce star on and have high hopes from him. And they certainly do not want Antony in return.
“Following the recent arrival of Amorim, United are planning major changes in January. The first of them has to do with the future of Antony, one of the highest-paid players in the squad.
“The Manchester club does not want to keep the Brazilian in the team and is looking for a right-wing player who is young and has potential, qualities that fit perfectly with Arda Güler, the player they would like to exchange for Antony.
“The truth is that the Turkish star is not having the prominence he would like at the start of the season, a situation that has not gone unnoticed by United.
Real set to reject United offer
“At Chamartín right now, they are not considering the departure of Arda Güler, and even less the signing of Antony.
They are aware that in January, several teams will knock on Arda Güler’s door. However, the answer will always be the same: “Don’t touch Arda”.
Maybe United should revisit with a loan offer if the swap deal does not work out. Given Antony’s form, Real’s resounding negative response was always a given considering Guler’s potential.
An exit for Antony would free up a lot of space on the wage bill for United with the former Ajax star earning £ 200,000 per week (as per capology).
From being considered as Mohamed Salah’s replacement at Liverpool to being on the fringes at United, it has been a sharp decline for Antony, who will be desperate to catch Amorim’s eye on training to prolong his United stay.