Erik ten Hag responds to claims ex-Man Utd boss could sign Antony for THIRD time

Former Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has denied claims he could sign Antony for a third time at Bayer Leverkusen - but insisted the Brazilian winger was "like a son to me".

The Dutchman is looking to start a new chapter with the Bundesliga side after taking the reigns from Xabi Alonso and put his turbulent spell with Manchester United behind him.

Ten Hag - who was axed by United last October after leading the team to their worst ever start to a Premier League season - has shown a great affinity towards Antony after signing him twice during his career.

He first snapped him up for Ajax in 2020 and helped turn him into one of Europe's most talented wingers as he played a huge part in the team winning back to back Eredivisie titles.

Ten Hag then left for United in 2022 and brought him with - as the club splashed out £85m on the player. However, he struggled to justify that huge figure at Old Trafford and only scored 12 times in 96 appearances.

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After Ten Hag was axed, he failed to convince his successor Ruben Amorim that he was a valuable member of his team and was duly sent on loan to Real Betis - where he rediscovered his spark with nine goals and two assists.

After Antony's loan spell at Betis ended, his future is up in the air again - leading to speculation he could link up with his old manager once again - but Ten Hag has been quick to shut down those suggestions.

When asked about the possibility of signing Antony, Ten Hag replied: “He has great quality. I signed him twice.

"He was like a son to me, he still is a son to me. We're not interested in him at the moment, but we'll see what happens in the future”.

Ten Hag will need more attacking reinforcements at Leverkusen after losing club talisman Florian Wirtz, who departed for Liverpool in a £116.5million deal.

Wirtz scored 16 goals for Leverkusen last season and assisted another 13 so he will be a painful loss - but the club have made moves towards replacing him.

Leverkusen have signed attacking midfielder Malik Tillman from PSV for around £30m - which is a club record fee - while Ibrahim Maza from Hertha Berlin has also arrived.

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