Tottenham battle Ajax for Ziyech and could impact Manchester United’s Antony move

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Manchester United’s push to sign Antony has appeared to be moving in the right direction in recent days.

The Brazilian skipped training last week and did not feature in their squad on Sunday. Fabrizio Romano reports Antony has even agreed personal terms with United.

Even with Ajax seeking £80 million plus, The Times report, a move could happen, and it helped by Ajax lining up Hakim Ziyech as a replacement.

Fabrizio Romano reports Ajax held talks with Ziyech already about bringing him back to the club. But now Tottenham are reported to be throwing a spanner into the works.

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Tottenham throw spanner in the works

Tottenham have expressed interest in signing Hakim Ziyech in the past 24 hours, report Dutch outlet AD.

Antonio Conte reportedly wants to add another experienced forward to his squad, and believes Ziyech fits the profile.

The potential repercussions for Manchester United are that if Ziyech signs for Tottenham, Ajax have to reset their search for an Antony replacement.

While they have signed youngster Francisco Conceicao from Porto earlier this summer, their recent push to sign Ziyech shows they feel they need an additional option.

With time running out before the transfer deadline, it’s clearly better for Manchester United if Ziyech signs with Ajax, rather than Tottenham, making Ajax more likely to cave in and agree to sell Antony.

The optimistic view, is that Chelsea would refuse to deal with rivals Tottenham and reject their approach.

Ziyech could also decide he would rather return to Ajax as a starter, instead of accept a bench role at Tottenham, a sideways step from his current situation at Chelsea.

This may simply be a small hurdle in United’s Antony pursuit, or it could become a sizeable one which delays or prevents a switch.

But having pursued the Brazil international all summer long, United aren’t going to give up now, or let this stop them. Hopefully Ajax have a few alternatives to Ziyech lined up just in case. They should soon have plenty of money to spend.