Erik ten Hag refused to be drawn on the imminent arrival of Antony at his press conference on Wednesday but the Manchester United manager admitted his satisfaction at bolstering his attacking options.
United have reached an agreement with Ajax to sign the Brazilian winger for £86m, subject to a medical, personal terms being finalised and international clearance, with Ten Hag hopeful he will be available for the Super Sunday clash with Arsenal – live on Sky Sports.
Speaking ahead of United’s trip to Leicester on Thursday, the United boss said: “Firstly we have to sign him, there is an agreement between the clubs, but paperwork is not done so I cannot go too deep on that.”
Asked what qualities Antony would bring, Ten Hag added: “Offensively we need to strengthen our squad, because we have many games to cover. From now on we go three games a week, every three or four days.
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“As you know, offensive players fatigue more quickly because they have to run more at high intensity. We expect that from them with our way of play, so we need more numbers but not only numbers, we need quantity as well as quality.”
With a deal for Antony all-but secure, Ten Hag confirmed he expected the signing of out-of-favour Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka to be the club’s last this summer.
“I think so,” Ten Hag said. “For this window it will be the end. But when there is great opportunity you have to always be alert as a top club.”
