Manchester United continued their pre-season preparations for the 2025/26 campaign with a 2-1 win over Premier League rivals West Ham United in America on Saturday night.
Bruno Fernandes scored both of the team’s goals in a narrow win over the Hammers, scoring from the spot in the first half before delivering a fantastic finish in the second.
There was another outing for new signing Matheus Cunha, who played the opening 66 minutes of the game, but Bryan Mbeumo was not ready to don the shirt for the first time.
Whilst fans have had the chance to watch last season’s team, along with Cunha, ramp up their preparations to improve on last year’s dismal showing, there are a number of players who have not been part of the travelling party.
Ruben Amorim decided to leave several players at home for this tour and the Premier League summer series, as the club are looking to move on from them this summer.
One of the players in the ‘bomb squad’ is Brazilian forward Antony, who spent the second half of last season on loan with Real Betis in Spain.
Why Man Utd should sell Antony
It simply has not worked out for the left-footed dud in England and it appears to be the right time to allow him to move on from Old Trafford on a permanent basis, after a successful loan spell.
United reportedly agreed an £85m deal with Ajax to sign Antony in the summer of 2022 to bolster Erik ten Hag’s options at the top end of the pitch, but he has only mustered up 12 goals and five assists in 96 appearances for the club to date.
The 25-year-old star has not offered enough in the final third to suggest that he has much of a future in English football, rarely scoring or creating goals in his three years in Manchester so far, which is why it could be the right move to cash in on him this summer.
It could also be a smart time to cash in on the winger because he is fresh off the back of a successful loan spell with Real Betis, which shows that he does have the quality to make an impact in other leagues in Europe.
Appearances
17
9
xG
2.87
1.41
Goals
5
4
Big chances created
8
5
Key passes per game
2.2
1.1
Assists
2
3
As you can see in the table above, the former Ajax star caught the eye with nine goals and 13 ‘big chances’ created in 26 appearances for the Spanish side, which may help United to attract interest from other clubs this summer.
Whilst it remains to be seen where Antony will end up by the conclusion of the summer transfer window, there is an even bigger United flop closing in on a move away.
Man Utd flop agrees personal terms on exit
According to the print edition of Corriere dello Sport (26/07/2025), as relayed by Tutto Mercato Web, Jadon Sancho has agreed personal terms with Italian giants Juventus.
The report claims that the England international, who is not part of the club’s pre-season tour, has verbally agreed to a five-year contract with the Old Lady, which would see him earn around £5.2m-per-season.
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It states that Sancho is aware that his race is run at Manchester United and he is willing to drop his wage demands from the £8.7m-per-season he is said to earn at Old Trafford in order to seal a move to Italy.
However, the sticking point is currently the transfer fee. United want a fee of around £22m for the former Borussia Dortmund star, whilst Juventus are currently offering up to £17m.
This is a move that appears to be heading in the right direction, though, given that he has already agreed personal terms, which means that flop could be closing in on an exit from Old Trafford.
Why Sancho is even worse than Antony
Cashing in on Sancho would be a great move for United because he has flopped in Manchester and is currently even worse than Antony as a wide option.
The English forward joined from Borussia Dortmund for a fee of £73m in the summer of 2021 and has scored 12 goals in all competitions for the Red Devils in the subsequent four years, which is as many as Antony has scored for the club in three years.
Sancho was not a part of Ten Hag’s plans at the start of last season and the Dutchman sent him out on loan to Chelsea for the 2025/26 campaign, but he struggled to offer consistent quality for the Blues.
Appearances
26
42
xG
4.28
2.60
Goals
9
5
Big chances created
13
11
Assists
5
8
Games per goal/assist
1.85
3.23
As you can see in the table above, Sancho only averaged a goal or an assist every 3.23 appearances in all competitions for Chelsea last term, as Antony outperformed him during his five-month spell with Real Betis.
These statistics show that the Brazilian winger was far more effective during his loan spell away from Old Trafford, as he scored more goals and created more ‘big chances’ in 16 fewer appearances.
As Jamie Redknapp said in the clip above, Sancho simply does not do enough in the final third to produce goals and assists to help his team win matches.
The 25-year-old flop has scored 12 goals in four years at United and only managed five goals in 42 games on loan at Chelsea, which backs up the pundit’s point about his lack of output at the top end of the pitch.
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Therefore, United should be delighted that Sancho has agreed personal terms with Juventus and is now closing in on an exit, with the finer details of the transfer fee just to be ironed out, because he is even worse than Antony, and possibly a bigger flop despite a smaller fee.