Man United miss out on Antony fee as Real Betis contract clause triggered, new talks scheduled

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Antony has hit the ground running in Spain since leaving Manchester United for Real Betis.

Considered a flop at Old Trafford, Antony was encouraged to go out on loan in January and rediscover his form elsewhere.

Antony recently starred against Barcelona as he continues his impressive form in La Liga. He has quickly become a fan favourite at Betis, who are eager to extend his stay.

United rejected Betis’ offer to extend Antony’s loan by a further 12 months, with Ineos preferring to offload the Brazilian permanently in the summer.

Antony is happy at Betis, so it seems the only hurdle remaining is to agree a reasonable fee between both parties.

Man United miss out on Antony loan fee as clause triggered

Antony has become a key player for Betis this season, with four goals and four assists to his name.

On Sunday, Antony played the full 90 minutes as Betis lost 2-1 to Villarreal in La Liga in what was his 15th appearance for the club.

According to ABC Sevilla, there was a penalty clause in Antony’s loan deal that required Betis to pay £480,000 if he failed to play 15 matches this season.

However, Betis have now managed to avoid having to pay the fee with Antony surpassing the required number of appearances.

Betis are covering 84% of Antony’s wages as per the loan agreement – the Brazilian is understood to be earning around £200,000 per week on his United contract.

Man United’s asking price for Antony with Betis keen

The ABC Sevilla report above also claims that Betis are planning new talks with United’s hierarchy over potentially extending Antony’s loan deal for a further 12 months.

Antony is eager to stay in Spain having rejuvenated his form, but Ineos are eager to make £100m in sales this summer and the Brazilian could contribute a significant fee.

United have set an asking price of £40m for Antony, which would still represent a major loss on the £86m spent signing him from Ajax.

READ MORE: Man Utd handed upper hand in Antony negotiations as Real Betis make ‘everything in our power’ claim

Ineos are keen to remove Antony from the wage bill entirely and add funds from a sale into a summer budget to reinforce Amorim’s squad.

United will be in the market for a new striker and No.10 this summer, with Ineos yet to find any replacements for Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho or Antony.