Manchester United are in trouble right now and find themselves sitting at 8th in the Premier League table. This looks a million miles away from the team that had shown so much promise in Erik ten Hag's debut season and questions are being raised about the manager's future at Old Trafford as well. One thing is clear, the club need to strengthen in January. And it looks like a former Real Madrid player is in their sights.
Real Madrid have earned a lot of plaudits for their ability to develop youngsters. One they missed out on is Takefusa Kubo.
Kubo did not make a single appearance for Real Madrid during his time at the club but has gone on to become one of the brightest young talents in all of La Liga since leaving for Real Sociedad. So much so that Los Blancos are being linked with him already.
They are not the only ones though. As reported by AS (via Sport Witness), Manchester United could offer a swap deal to Real Sociedad that would see Kubo move to Old Trafford in exchange for Antony.
Manchester United could offer swap deal for Real Madrid target
Manchester United signed Antony from Ajax for a transfer fee believed to be around €100 million. He was someone Ten Hag had already coached, so on paper, the move made sense.
Unfortunately for Manchester United, Antony has struggled since joining the club. His debut campaign was underwhelming and he seems to have taken a step back since then and is yet to make a goal contribution this season so far.
It feels unlikely that Real Sociedad would be open to the idea of bringing in Antony for Kubo unless there is a significant transfer fee involved in the deal too. There is believed to be a €60 million release clause in his deal. Real Madrid have a 50% sell-on clause.