'Even retired 37-year-old better than Antony'

Robin Bairner

• 6 Apr 2023 12:56 BST
• 3 min read

Manchester United winger Antony again finds himself in the eye of a critical storm.

Since making a €100 million summer move from Ajax – the vast majority was paid upfront to the Eredivisie club – the Brazil international attacker has struggled to win over fans at Old Trafford.

Despite being a favourite of manager Erik ten Hag, the 23-year-old, who is given an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €72 million, to make telling contributions.

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Over the course of 31 matches for Man Utd, Antony has contributed only seven goals, three of which have come in the Premier League, and a single assist.

He failed to make a positive impact in Wednesday’s 1-0 Premier League win over Brentford in which he played 86 minutes before being replaced by Victor Lindelof late on.

“When I watch Antony I look at his stats for starters. He’s played 16 Premier League games, three goals and zero assists,” former England and Aston Villa striker Gabriel Agbonlahor told TalkSport.

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“He’s got zero assists because of the way he plays. I’ve watched him all season, I watched him last night against Brentford and he gets the ball and knows he can’t beat the full-back on the outside, so he pretends to go on the outside, goes inside and gives it away.

“If you’re a striker then you’re frustrated. Andy Cole came out and said that if he was a striker in the team he’d be so frustrated because you’re not going to get chances.”

'Valencia better than Antony'

Agbonlahor went on to argue that Antonio Valencia, who was signed for around €17.5m (£16m) in 2009, was a far better player.

“I would swap him, any day of the week, for Antonio Valencia,” he said.

“His first season at Manchester United he got seven goals and 13 assists. The season after, six goals and 16 assists, then he went to right-back.

“That’s a winger who used to get the ball, a little step-over, pace and power and clip it in. Strikers knew when it was coming in.

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“Antony gets it and does his little tricks. Yesterday, there was one incident where he took himself on – he didn’t take the defender on, he took himself on!

“He takes the ball, does a little shimmy and the defender is just stood there, like: ‘Go on then, take me on.’”

Valencia played 10 season at Man Utd, turning out 339 times for the club.