Manchester United are being described as the favourites to sign Waldemar Anton, but this is not a clean run at the player. Borussia Dortmund are said to want around €35-40 million, and Aston Villa plus Atletico Madrid are also in the picture. The price, the competition and the player's situation all keep the move alive rather than settled.
Dortmund's price and leverage
The reported fee range matters because Dortmund are in no hurry to sell. Anton is said to be under contract until 2028, which gives the German club real leverage in talks. That is why the chase feels more like a valuation test than a simple pursuit of a defender.
Anton has made 86 Dortmund appearances across two seasons, which is part of the reason he is being treated as an established option rather than a speculative target. Julian Nagelsmann has already called him "incredible", and that kind of praise tends to travel quickly when clubs are weighing up a move.
The case for United is less obvious
United finished third in the Premier League with 71 points, 69 goals for and 50 against, then won four of their last five league matches, including a 3-0 win at Brighton and a 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest. That is not the sort of backdrop that screams defensive emergency. It makes the Anton talk look more like squad-building than a must-do fix.
Radek Vitek added a different note in a separate interview with Teamtalk, saying: "I'm ready to go somewhere again and hopefully be number one." He also said: "I'm ready for both [loan and permanent], to be fair. It depends on what the club wants and also on the options. There has been a few interests on the table. We're hoping to choose the best one and hopefully it will happen soon."
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 4 outlets. How we work →
