Manchester United have reportedly reached an agreement for Antony with Ajax for €100 million, making this Ajax’s highest sale, and also catapulting the Brazilian to Eredivisie’s most expensive player until now.
Erik ten Hag, the former Ajax manager, has been pushing for Antony’s move for a long time now and United have constantly upped their offer finally getting their offer accepted with a few days remaining before the transfer window closes.
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The onus will be on the 22-year-old Brazilian to live up to his price tag, but thus far, the Lisandro Martinez move has been working out for the Red Devils despite many naysayers believing that the Argentine’s height would be a shortcoming in his defensive abilities in Premier League matches. With two hefty Premier League moves, each setting Eredivisie records here’s a look at the other five most expensive Dutch league transfers of all time.
Hirving Lozano
Napoli shelled out €42 million for the Mexican who’d made waves playing for PSV Eindhoven. He’d had an impressive World Cup performance as well but didn’t quite manage to keep the form going in the Italian league, often struggling for first-team footballing chances in his debut season.
Davinson Sanchez
The Ajax player came to Tottenham for around €49 million, but the centre-back didn’t do so well in the Premier League. He was named Player of the Season during his debut at Ajax, and his recall to the North London team might mean that Antonio Conte has Sanchez in his long-term plans.
Lisandro Martinez
United faced a lot of flak for getting a defender who many considered too short for the job. On top of that, ten Hag’s side paid around €57 for the Argentine.
However, Martinez has thus far been impressive, putting up a fiery performance against Liverpool, where United won the game 2-1. The former Ajax player, along with former Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane, is ten Hag’s top defensive choice for the Reds at the moment.
Frenkie de Jong
United were planning for a Dutch reunion at Old Trafford with ten Hag setting his sights on former Ajax midfielder Frenkie de Jong as well. However, the Dutchman made it clear that he was perfectly happy at Barcelona, where he moved on a €70 million deal.
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The Reds got out of a stagnating proposal and made a deal for Real Madrid’s Casemiro instead, obtaining one of the finest central defensive midfielders in the game at present.
Matthijs de Ligt
Matthijs de Ligt, until now, held the record for the most expensive Eredivisie transfer at €75 million. He moved to Juventus and then to Bayern Munich for €80 million.
He broke into the Ajax side as a teenager and has already cemented his position as one of the best defenders in the current game. de Ligt won the Serie A during his debut season at Juventus but left the Italian side due to their falling form.