Villarreal made late push to sign Antony before he chose Real Betis | OneFootball

Villarreal tried to snatch Manchester United’s Antony with a last-gasp effort but he chose to go to Real Betis.

United are keen to rid their squad of deadwood so they can fund their own January and summer transfer plans.

Numerous attacking options such as Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho have been heavily linked with a move away from Old Trafford.

Antony has also made massive progress in a transfer away from the club and it was reported earlier in the week that Real Betis had reached an agreement with the player and the English team to sign him on loan.

The deal will see no loan fee and the Andalusian club will only pay a part of his wages, but they will face penalties if he doesn’t play ten or more games, either as a starter or in a full second half.

Journalist Alvaro Jiménez on El Chiringuito TV claimed that another Spanish side tried to swoop in and steal the Brazilian out of Betis’ clutches.

Speaking to the TV show he said, “Villarreal also wanted him and offered more, but the Brazilian wants to play for Betis. They are also looking for a striker in the winter market.”

The choice of Betis over Villarreal is an interesting one as the yellow submarine are currently fifth in La Liga.

Meanwhile, Los Verdiblancos are currently in 12th place in the league and eight points behind their rivals.

Antony may have been attracted however to the promise of European football as Betis have qualified for the next round of the Conference League, while Villarreal have no European football to look forward to this season.

United will be hoping that the Brazilian can rediscover something of his old Ajax form and pick his broken confidence off the floor with the loan deal.

While the club will not be able to regain anything like the price they paid for him, they will be hoping that a five-month spell in Spain will boost his price and encourage someone to make a bid for the winger in the summer window.

Feature image Paul Ellis via Getty Images

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