Antony will play on the right-hand side for Manchester United once his transfer is finalised.
13.08.2022 - 01:01 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Erik ten Hag admits Manchester United are an injury away from encountering problems in midfield and attack.
Anthony Martial's hamstring strain and Cristiano Ronaldo's lack of playing time convinced Ten Hag to play a strikerless side against Brighton but United lost their season-opener 2-1 at Old Trafford.
Four attack-minded players left United at the end of their contracts in June while the departure of Nemanja Matic means there is not a defensive midfielder in the first-team squad. Martial is still unavailable for United's match at Brentford.
Also read: United make decision on Mejbri's future
The presence in midfield of Scott McTominay and Fred, hooked for Ronaldo after 53 minutes against Brighton, irked many supporters and Donny van de Beek and James Garner are Ten Hag's alternative options.
"We cooperate well and it is to my satisfaction," Ten Hag stressed regarding United's recruitment process, "and, of course, it was better to get the players earlier in because then you get earlier in the process.
"And now we are in the department of midfield and offence, you have seen when we have one injury that we have a problem. That’s clear."
United identified the midfield and attack as priority positions but have signed a left-back, a centre-back and playmaker Christian Eriksen.
Ten Hag has driven a pursuit of Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong which is nearing the 100-day mark while United have agreed a fee of £15million rising to £20m for Adrien Rabiot.
Ajax winger Antony was earmarked as Ten Hag's preferred attacking addition but the Dutch champions have priced out the Brazilian of a move as he is valued at €80m.
United's transfer window descended into farce with an €8million bid for Bologna forward Marko Arnautovic last
Antony will play on the right-hand side for Manchester United once his transfer is finalised.
Here are your Manchester United evening headlines for Wednesday, August 31
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has explained his decision to start Casemiro on the bench vs Southampton.
Erik ten Hag is aware that his start as Manchester United boss has been unacceptable and he has now identified when he feels the team's downturn started.
Erik ten Hag has cited the absence of a deep-lying midfielder among the reasons for Manchester United's dreadful start to the season.
Manchester United have endured a testing start to this Premier League season and things could get worse before they get better for Erik ten Hag - according to a worrying Supercomputer prediction.
Former Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho once told Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro that he would become the "best central midfielder in the world" amid the Reds' interest in his signature.
Manchester United have reached out to Spanish giants Real Madrid about the prospect of signing midfielder Casemiro.
Manchester United players are off today, having been hauled in for an unscheduled training session on Sunday.
Manchester United target Antony has broken his silence on Erik ten Hag's interest in him. The Brazilian winger is one of Ten Hag's targets this summer as he looks to strengthen his squad.
Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has admitted he feels sorry for Erik ten Hag and believes the Dutchman has joined the club under "false pretences".
David de Gea does not know how Manchester United will find improvement after their 4-0 defeat against Brentford.
Erik ten Hag lambasted Manchester United players for showing a lack of hunger in their 4-0 trouncing by Brentford and said he would have changed the entire team at half-time if he could have.
Erik ten Hag insists Cristiano Ronaldo has not told him he wants to leave Manchester United.
These are your Manchester United evening headlines for Friday, August 12.
After the promising start made by Erik ten Hag in pre-season, last weekend's opening 2-1 defeat by Brighton showed just how far Manchester United still have to go before they are competitive again. Some of that work will be undertaken at Carrington and the new manager certainly wasn't going easy on his players in the baking sunshine this week.
Erik ten Hag is being met with resistance from the Manchester United hierarchy amid his interest in signing Hakim Ziyech from Chelsea.