Antony has sent another message to Manchester United during his loan spell with Real Betis.
The Brazilian left United during the January transfer window to join Betis on loan for the remainder of the season. Before his Old Trafford exit, Antony had scored just one goal across 14 appearances this season, with that one strike coming from the penalty spot against Barnsley in the Carabao Cup back in September.
Sunday night saw Anthony in action for his fourth appearance for Betis since his loan move from United. The 24-year-old opened the scoring in the La Liga match against Real Sociedad, with Betis winning the game 3-0 and Marc Roca scoring a brace.
Antony found the back of the net after the ball fell to him on the edge of the penalty area, before the on-loan United star struck a volley through a crowd of players and past Sociedad goalkeeper Alex Remiro. The goal took Antony’s tally for the loan spell in Spain up to three in just four matches and sent a message to United in the process.
The success of the loan spell has led to speculation about Antony’s long-term future beyond this season, particularly with United.
It’s understood that United did not include a purchase option in the loan agreement with Betis, meaning that Antony is certain to return to Old Trafford at some stage over the next few months. It is technically possible for United to recall Antony from the loan deal should they wish to do so.
However, Premier League rules state that loan deals must last for a minimum of 28 days—the same length as a short-term loan—meaning that the earliest that Antony could return to Manchester is February 22 if United chose to exercise a recall option in the loan deal. But it is not clear if any such clause was included in the temporary deal that took Antony to Spain.
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