MANCHESTER UNITED’S former boss Erik ten Hag suggested he could help the Premier League giants offload one of their priciest outcasts.
Ten Hag, 55, was sacked by United in October following a poor start to a disastrous campaign despite winning the Carabao Cup and FA Cup in his first two years at Old Trafford.
The Dutch tactician returned to work in May as he took over at Bayer Leverkusen where he replaced Xabi Alonso after he decided to return to Real Madrid.
And the ex-Ajax boss teased a major reunion at Leverkusen, which would really help Man Utd’s finances.
Ten Hag declared his undying admiration for the Red Devils’ outcast Antony, whom the Manchester giants are looking to offload this summer.
The Dutchman signed the winger at Ajax in 2020 when he lured him from Sao Paulo and then had him follow him to United in 2022 following a staggering £85.5m deal with the Eredivisie giants.
And the ex-Utrecht boss suggested he is open to yet another reunion by describing the Brazil international as a “son”.
The experienced head coach admitted Leverkusen are not currently monitoring Antony, but that could change.
Ten hag told BILD: “He has great quality. I signed him twice. He was like a son to me, he still is a son to me.
“We’re not interested in him at the moment, but we’ll see what happens in the future.”
Antony is one of five outcasts – including Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho, Jadon Sancho and Tyrell Malacia – currently training alone at Carrington.
Ten Hag’ successor Ruben Amorim is not planning to re-integrate any of the above and has ordered them to work out after the first team has left the premises at 5pm.
Antony has struggled throughout his three-year stint at United with a mere total of 12 goals and five assists in 96 appearances under his belt.
The Brazilian revived his career in the second half of last season, which he spent on loan at Real Betis where he registered nine goals and five assists in 26 appearances.
Betis want to have him back but lack the necessary finances – mainly due to Antony’s astronomical wages – and another loan stint is more likely than a permanent transfer.
Ten Hag could really use the forward after an embarrassing coaching debut at Leverkusen on Friday.
The ex-Man Utd boss saw his new team suffer a humiliating 5-1 loss to Flamengo’s Under-20s.
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