Ander Herrera has bigged up his Manchester United teammate with a surprising claim.
The appointment of Jose Mourinho looks to have had a huge impact on the performance of some players at Old Trafford, none more so than Antonio Valencia.
Now in his eighth season at Manchester United, Valencia has impressed under the new manager and looks to have nailed down the right-back position which was up for grabs in pre-season.
Three assists in a friendly against Galatasaray, supplying the winner for Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the Community Shield, playing a huge role in the second goal at Bournemouth last Sunday and starring once again on Friday night against Southampton, the 31-year-old is in the form of his life.
Beating his man and putting in a good cross seemed implausible for Valencia until now, and Ander Herrera, speaking to MUTV, had high praise for the Ecuadorian.
“I know he’s not a normal right-back because he used to play as a winger, but I think that, right now, he is the best right-back in the world, maybe with Dani Alves, because I like Dani Alves a lot. I think Antonio is one of the best right-backs in the world,” Herrera told MUTV.
“When you have a right-back who is quick to defend and he is crossing maybe six or seven times a game, always or almost always successfully, then he understands the football. When I have the ball, I know that Antonio’s always ready to receive it, always to give you one solution.
“I think he’s going to be very important this season. He has already been very important for the club, he has already been here eight years, but I think I told you at the end of the last season something good is being cooked and everyone wants to be part of that.”
With Shaw on the left and Valencia playing like this on the right, United have not only a superb force from the wing in attack but a drive to make them even more formidable from defence too.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba will steal the limelight, though Valencia’s rise under Mourinho doesn’t look like stagnating anytime soon.
Herrera’s statement will stun a lot, though he may just be caught up in all the excitement the United fans are revelling in too after such a fine start.
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