Real Betis chief reveals Antony transfer plan as Man Utd flop continues to impress on loan in La Liga

The Brazilian winger ended a miserable spell at United in January when he moved to La Liga until the end of the season and he has thrived from the beginning. He has scored four goals and made as many assists in 13 games, with Manuel Pellegrini's men losing just twice in all competitions in that run.

Betis have been vocal about their desire to make the 25-year-old's deal a permanent one this summer, with a club chief saying Antony wants to stay and co-star Isco calling for them to start crowdfunding for a transfer. While the Seville club will have a tough time matching United's demands for a player they paid £85 million ($98m) for in 2022, sporting director Manu Fajardo suggested they will do their best to work something out.

He told Movistar: "It is a source of satisfaction on a personal level [bringing Antony to Betis], but it is the result of teamwork. Although I am responsible for the sporting management, there are many people involved in this signing. It is still early days, but we will try, in different ways, to do everything to continue enjoying Antony."

Meanwhile, chief executive Ramon Alarcon told Canal Sur Radio that he has high hopes: "The vice president said it the other day and I agree. When we talked about bringing him in in January it was a more remote possibility than the one there is now [of being able to keep him]. Manchester United and the player have realised that Betis is a great place for him to develop his football. Nowadays I see it as more likely that he will stay. There is a World Cup in 2026 and the English club wants him to increase his value. It will be difficult, but I am more optimistic than I was in January. I am moderately optimistic."

A month on from their 2-1 win against Real Madrid, Betis earned a 1-1 draw at Barcelona at the weekend. With six wins and two draws across their last eight matches, they will hope to extend that run when they meet Jagiellonia Bialystok in the Conference League this week.