This season I saw Manchester United being very careful in the transfer market, maybe they learned from their failure when they bought Pogba and Harry Maguire, Antony is a very talented player and coach Erik Ten Hag knew him very well when they were both at Ajax. However, because the price set by Ajax is a bit expensive, Manchester United is very careful in making an official offer.
I would say they are not being careful but are wasting time. For example they are wasting so much time after De Jong and honestly they still have learnt nothing as they are bidding 70/80m around for De Jong. I honestly don't value him that much, maybe around 50-60 m mark seems ok but above that I don't think it is worth going after. They will find a good strong midfielder if they look for players properly in my opinion.