Manchester United’s Antony is one of a number of forwards Bayer Leverkusen are looking at should Florian Wirtz leave.

New Leverkusen boss Erik ten Hag was in charge of Manchester United when Antony joined for over £80m in 2022.

If United allow Antony to leave, their preference is a permanent deal.

He impressed in a loan spell at Real Betis in the second half of last season, scoring nine goals in 24 starts.

Betis remain interested in signing him, but are unlikely to be able to meet United’s asking price.

Re-integrating him into the United set-up cannot be ruled out. He featured in every one of Ruben Amorim’s squads bar one before he left for Spain in late January.

Latest on Wirtz to Liverpool

Liverpool have made a £105m offer for Leverkusen playmaker Wirtz. The German club value the player at €150m, which equates to just over £126m.

He scored for Germany on Wednesday as they were beaten 2-1 by Portugal in the Nations League semi-finals.

Bayern Munich and Manchester City are also trying to sign the 22-year-old, who was among one of the Bundesliga’s most impressive performers last season.

Up until a week ago, the Premier League champions believed the player wanted to stay in Germany but they’ve since been told he favours a move to Liverpool.

Wirtz, who has spent his entire senior career at Leverkusen, scored 10 goals and registered 12 assists in 25 starts as his side finished runners-up to Bayern Munich, a year on from winning a league and cup double.

The British record transfer fee currently stands at £115m, paid by Chelsea to Brighton for Moises Caicedo in 2023.

Sky Sports to show 215 live PL games from next season

From next season, Sky Sports’ Premier League coverage will increase from 128 matches to at least 215 games exclusively live.

And 80 per cent of all televised Premier League games next season are on Sky Sports.