Ferdinand gives damning assessment of Manchester United winger Antony

Rio Ferdinand insists Antony could have no arguments with being dropped in the future after another woeful performance in Saturday's 1-0 win over Fulham.

Antony retained his place in the starting line-up for the trip to Craven Cottage despite another disappointing performance during Wednesday's 3-0 Carabao Cup defeat against Newcastle. The Brazilian was poor once again, killing attacks when he got the ball and offering little in the way of defensive help.

His removal for Facundo Pellistri on 63 minutes was cheered by the travelling support and the young Uruguayan made a far more significant impact in half the time. His hard work unsettled Fulham's defence in the passage of play that eventually led to Bruno Fernandes' added-time winner.

“You could smell the frustration, let alone hear it, from the travelling fans,” Ferdinand told TNT Sports. “He [Antony] has played 11 games this season, zero goals and zero assists. From an attacking player that's not good enough. That's the hard facts.

“You look today, you've got a 35-year-old on the opposite wing, in Willian. If you didn't know their ages, and their career paths, you'd rather have Willian on what you're seeing right now.

“He has to improve dramatically. When Rashford's fit and comes back, which will hopefully be the next game, if Garnacho doesn't start, he'd probably sit there and scratch his head if Antony starts ahead of him. I'd be doing that.

“You have to have that competitive edge within in the squad. But if you're being kept out of the team by a player, you want to know that that player's actually producing the goods and getting some goals, assists or impacting the game. At the moment, I think if Antony does come out of the team, I don't think he could argue.”

Marcus