Erik ten Hag claims Antony is ‘like a son to me’ as he reveals his stance on signing Man United’s £86m outcast for a THIRD time

Former Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has claimed that Antony is ‘like a son to me’ amid suggestions that he could be reunited with the winger at Bayer Leverkusen.

Antony has been heavily linked with a permanent departure from Old Trafford having spent the second half of last season on loan at Real Betis.

Ten Hag, who took charge of Leverkusen this summer, has previously signed Antony on two occasions – bringing him to Ajax from Sao Paulo in 2020 and then to United in 2022.

Ten Hag told BILD: ‘He has great quality. I signed him twice. He was like a son to me, he still is a son to me.

During their time together at United and Ajax, Antony played under ten Hag on 166 occasions.

A host of clubs have been linked with Antony this summer, including Brighton, Newcastle and RB Leipzig.

Antony has been heavily linked with a permanent departure from United this summer

The Dutch manager was appointed the new boss at Bayer Leverkusen replacing Xabi Alonso 

Although Ten Hag admitted that Leverkusen aren’t looking to sign Antony at present, he suggested that the situation could change. 

He said: ‘We’re not interested in him at the moment, but we’ll see what happens in the future.’ 

There have also been suggestions of a return to Betis, for whom he scored nine goals in 26 games while on loan.

Antony signed for United for £86million in 2022 but the move certainly hasn’t worked out as expected.

In total Antony has made 96 appearances for United, while he has scored 12 goals and provided five assists.

Antony won the FA Cup and League Cup with United while ten Hag was in charge but his future seems to lie away from the club.

Ten Hag was sacked by United in October 2024, with Ruben Amorim being brought in to replace him.

Leverkusen have already signed two players from Premier League clubs in this transfer window, with Jarell Quansah joining from Liverpool, while goalkeeper Mark Flekken arrived from Brentford.

However, they lost Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong to Liverpool.