Ajax chief left fuming at Man United over Antony transfer
Furious Ajax tell Man United their ‘timing was SO BAD’ in moving for £85.5m Antony, weeks after buying £55m Lisandro Martinez, as sporting director says United overpaid with ‘huge sums of money’
- Man United completed the signing of the Brazilian winger on deadline day
- Antony had gone on strike in an effort to force through his move to Old Trafford
- It left Ajax scrambling to find a replacement ahead of the transfer deadline
- They failed to get Hakim Ziyech from Chelsea before signing Lucas Ocampos
- But Ajax sporting director Hamstra has not hidden his annoyance at United
Ajax were left fuming after Manchester United completed the £85million signing of their Brazilian winger Antony on deadline day.
After taking manager Erik ten Hag and defender Lisandro Martinez over the summer, United matched Ajax’s inflated asking price for Antony shortly before the window shut.
Antony had gone on strike and had refused to play until Ajax accepted United’s offer and he made a scoring start against Arsenal on Sunday.
Antony celebrates scoring against Arsenal on his Manchester United debut on Sunday
United boss Erik ten Hag raided his former club Ajax for the winger late in the transfer window
But Ajax sporting director Gerry Hamstra is far from happy at the way United conducted their business, which left their manager Alfred Schreuder short.
He told De Telegraaf: ‘Manchester United’s timing was so bad. The last few days [of the window] became even more hectic after Ajax had already gone through a major rebuild of the squad following the departure of lots of top-class players.
Ajax sporting director Gerry Hamstra was less than impressed with United
‘It was so difficult to leave our manager with such a void. We all think we lost too many first-team players who always start. We had a summer with totally different expectations.
‘We wanted to keep the group together as much as possible to be able to perform well in the Champions League and to carry on being successful.
‘That’s what we talked about with Alfred. Of course we knew there were a few snags.
‘But no one had foreseen that our players would be bought for such huge sums of money.’
The situation wasn’t helped when Ajax failed to land Chelsea’s Hakim Ziyech but they did manage to sign Sevilla’s Lucas Ocampos on loan just before the deadline.
Ajax were able to rebuff Ten Hag’s approach for defender Jurrien Timber earlier in the summer but United returned for Martinez, who they signed for £55m.
It has since emerged that Martinez called Hamstra a ‘f****** nobody’ in a foul-mouthed outburst to push through his move to United.
Antony went on strike to force a conclusion to his transfer saga as United upped their offer
Taking a leaf out of the Argentine’s book, Antony also kicked up a fuss to secure his transfer to Old Trafford.
Ajax have also lost Andre Onana, Nicolas Tagliafico, Noussair Mazraoui, Sebastien Haller and Ryan Gravenberch during the window, forcing Schreuder to rebuild his team.
Hamstra added: ‘I understand Schreuder’s anger, very much so. I have been a manager myself, so I know how annoying it is when your best player leaves at the very last minute.
‘We did not want this, we wanted to keep Antony.’
United also signed Argentine defender Lisandro Martinez from Ajax earlier in the summer
The Brazilian made the perfect start to his United career when he scored in Sunday’s 3-1 win over Arsenal.
Despite the upheaval, Ajax have started the season with five straight league wins, scoring 16 goals in the process to top the Eredivisie standings.
They begin their Champions League campaign at home to Rangers on Wednesday.
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