Man Utd flop Antony makes decision on Olympiacos move this January

Antony is not keen on joining Olympiacos and there is nothing concrete in place for the winger to leave Manchester United on loan this January.

The 24-year-old has badly struggled to live up to expectations after joining United in a high-profile £82million move from Ajax back in 2022, with Gary Neville recently naming him as one of the club’s worst ever signings.

Across his two-and-a-half seasons in the north west, Antony has managed just five goals in the Premier League and the Brazil international has so far been limited to substitute appearances in the top flight under Ruben Amorim.

There is a growing acceptance behind the scenes at Old Trafford that the move has not worked – and is unlikely to ever come good – and the Red Devils are pushing to offload the forward on a temporary basis before the January deadline.

The Sun this week reported that Antony was being lined up for a loan move by Olympiacos, with the Europa Conference League champions ‘rigourously looking’ for attacking reinforcements and providing an potential escape route.

But according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, a move to Olympiacos is improbable this winter – and the player does not view the Greek outfit as a ‘priority’ at this stage anyway.

‘My understanding is the deal is not advancing, the deal is not concrete, the deal is not something really likely to happen in the January window,’ Romano said on his YouTube channel.

‘So Olympiacos, as well as many other clubs, including clubs from Spain, Italy are calling to understand the conditions of the Antony deal.

‘But Manchester United are not willing to pay the whole salary of the player first of all. That would make no sense, obviously, for Manchester United and also my understanding is that from the player’s side, Olympiacos is not considered a priority now.

‘Nothing really concrete or imminent for Antony and Olympiacos.’

Before the January transfer window opened for business, Antony’s agent Junior Pedroso claimed the out-of-favour Brazilian was attracting strong interest from a number of teams.

But at the same time, Pedroso stressed that United bosses had never given any indication that they were actively looking to offload his client.

‘Yes, many clubs have approached us for Antony’s move in January,’ Junior Pedroso told GiveMeSport.

‘These clubs wanted to understand the situation for Antony, so I can confirm that there’s concrete interest.’

He added: ‘To be fair, Manchester United have never expressed any interest to sell or loan out Antony to us.

‘We never received this sort of communication so far. Manchester United’s management never told us that they want Antony to leave, despite the reports we see around about our client.

‘I can say that Antony’s future is very much tied to Manchester United’s interests.

‘If the club thinks it would be a good idea to loan Antony out in January so he can get more minutes and regain his trust, we will work together on that option.

‘Otherwise, Antony is working hard to regain his place and show his best skills under the new coach Ruben Amorim.’

For more stories like this, check our sport page.

Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.