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Former Aston Villa star Gabriel Agbonlahor has slammed Manchester United ace Antony, claiming he would swap him for Antonio Valencia.
Antony, 23, has struggled to impress since joining the Red Devils from Ajax for a whopping fee of £86 million last summer. He has scored just three goals in 15 Premier League appearances so far this campaign.
Overall, the 15-cap Brazil international has registered seven goals and one assist in 2179 minutes of action, spread across 31 appearances.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Agbonlahor scrutinized Antony's outings for Manchester United in the ongoing 2022-23 season. He elaborated:
"When I watch Antony, I look at his stats for starters. He's played 15 Premier League games, three goals and no assists. 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 then gives it away."
Claiming Valencia to be better than Antony, Agbonlahor continued:
"If you're a striker, then you're frustrated. Andy Cole came out and said that if he was a striker in the team now, he'd be frustrated because you're not going to get chances.
"I would swap Antony, any day of the week, for Antonio Valencia. In 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."
Comparing Valencia's style of play to Antony's, Agbonlahor concluded:
"He was a winger who used to get the ball, a little step-over, pace and power and clip it in. The strikers knew when it was coming in. 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'."
Antony is next set to be in action for Manchester United in their Premier League contest against Everton at Old Trafford on Saturday (April 8).
Manchester United hold discussions to sign 27-year-old Bundesliga defender: Reports
As per The Athletic, Manchester United have held talks with Bayern Munich star Benjamin Pavard's entourage over a potential move.
Pavard, 27, has established himself as a regular starter at the Allianz Arena since arriving from VfB Stuttgart for £30 million in the winter of 2019. He has helped his current club lift a total of 10 trophies so far.
Manchester United have relied mainly on Diogo Dalot in the right-back position this season, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka as a backup. However, Wan-Bissaka is expected to secure a summer exit from Old Trafford.
