Former Chelsea scout claims the club missed out on signing Man United’s £85m man Antony before he joined Ajax as they could not get a deal over the line… and claims the Brazilian has ‘poison in his backside’
- Antony completed his £82million switch to the Red Devils on deadline day
- An ex-Chelsea scout says he used to keep close tabs on the Brazilian
- Piet de Visser says the club were never able to make a deal materialise
Former Chelsea scout Piet de Visser says he was very interested in bringing Antony to the club during his time there but a move ultimately failed to materialise.
Antony began his career in his native Brazil before joining Ajax in 2020, where he became recognised as one of Europe’s top young talents.
The 22-year-old earned a big money move to Manchester United in the summer but things would have played out differently had De Visser had his way.
Former Chelsea scout Piet de Visser says he was very interested in bringing Antony to the club
Speaking to Voetbal Nieuws podcast ‘The King of Manchester’, De Visser said: ‘Together with Hans van der Zee [former Ajax head scout] we saw him for the first time at Brazil’s youth ranks and we were both charmed by him. ‘That was a few years ago, just before he went to Ajax.
‘I thought he had to make an intermediate step and then Hans suggested Ajax. And then we would take him right from Ajax. We couldn’t get him, I would have wanted him.’
De Visser also spoke of how he also saw slightly dark side to the Brazilian’s game while watching him.
‘He’s a boy with poison in his backside. He sometimes crosses the line, but he comes from the favela, doesn’t he?’
Antony has made a bright start, scoring on his debut against Arsenal before.
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