Transfer News: Bitter rivals to join Chelsea in race to sign 21-year-old Eredivisie star
According to 90 min (h/t The Sun), Manchester United are set to rival Chelsea in the pursuit
of Brazilian youngster Antony.
The South American forward is also said to have caught the eye of Liverpool.
The Blues have looked a tad pale in the attacking department in several instances this season.
This has in huge part been caused due to the absence of wing-backs Reece James and Ben
Chilwell whose dynamic presence is sorely being missed at the moment.
The West Londoners have also lacked the clinical edge going forward and Antony could bring
a dash of youthful energy and vigour to this squad.
The 21-year-old has already made a name for himself by scoring 21 goals and providing
18 assists in 71 matches across all competitions for de Godenzonen.
The player has developed greatly under the guidance of Dutch boss Erik ten Hag.
In conversation with Good Morning Oranje (h/t The Sun), the 52-year-old manager has showered
his praises on the youngster admitting that his impressive performances are bound to attract
attention for a host of clubs:
“From a sporting point of view, it is clear that he is an incredible talent.
He is going through an incredibly beautiful development.
Especially if we perform in the Champions League, then it is clear that he will come
into the spotlight and be interesting for a lot of clubs.”
The Blues have spent huge amounts of money trying to create a roster of stellar attackers
at Stamford Bridge.
Whilst the club haven’t been shy of splashing the cash, big-money signings like Timo Werner
and Romelu Lukaku have struggled to justify their price tags.
The Belgian bagged some crucial goals in the recently concluded FIFA Club World Cup but
hasn’t been able to replicate that same kind of form in the UEFA Champions League
and Premier League.
The German international on the other hand hasn’t been able to recreate the kind of
clinical abilities that he showed with former club RB Leipzig.
Christian Pulsisic has proven to be a breath of fresh air and brings a lot going forward
but nagging injury issues have made it difficult for him to build up any solid momentum with
the Stamford Bridge outfit.
Hakim Ziyech has also managed to fill in and put in some impressive displays recently but
is yet to replicate those performances on a more consistent basis for the Blues.
Antony could prove to be a great acquisition and has performed pretty well with the Dutch
club in the UCL showcasing the fact that he can produce some memorable moments on the
big stage.
The Brazilian could add more depth to the squad and also help boost competition amongst
some of the more senior players in the team.
It would give Thomas Tuchel more options to rotate his squad.
That being said, the pursuit for the young star will not be easy considering the fact
that the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool have also been linked with him.
With that in mind, the fans would be ecstatic if we could pull one over our bitter rivals
but only time can tell us about his future destination.