Antony takes Ajax to court for conduct prior to £86m Man Utd move | OneFootball

Manchester United winger Antony has taken former club Ajax to court alleging he was unfairly fined wages in the build-up to his £86m transfer.

The 24-year-old became United's third most expensive signing ever - behind Paul Pogba and Romelu Lukaku - when he moved to Old Trafford in August 2022, following a lengthy transfer saga that saw Ajax reject multiple bids from the 13-time Premier League winners.

Antony expressed his desire to reunite with Erik ten Hag before a deal had been agreed - he'd moved to United earlier in the summer to succeed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as manager - and rejected the chance to extend his Ajax contract.

Training sessions were missed as United negotiated a price with Ajax, and Antony was left out of the Amsterdam giants' Eredivisie clash with Sparta Rotterdam despite being fit to play.

Erik ten Hag pushed Man Utd to sign Antony / Soccrates Images/GettyImages

Dutch newspaper AD (via The Times) report that court proceedings are underway, with Antony alleging that Ajax's decision to fine him on three separate occasions for being absent without permission was "unlawful". The amount Antony is seeking is said to be "a few hundred thousand euros".

Antony's move to United hasn't worked out as planned, leading to speculation that he may be offloaded in the current January transfer window.

A fast start to his career in England saw Antony net three times in his first three Premier League games, but he has scored just twice in the 57 matches that have followed. He has been on the periphary of United's team, both under Ten Hag, who was sacked earlier this season, and under Ruben Amorim, who was appointed as the club's first-ever head coach in November.

Antony is yet to start a Premier League game this season, playing just 84 minutes as a second half substitute on six occasions.