Football pundit Jamie O'Hara has compared former Premier League striker Gabby Agbonlahor's persistent defense of Manchester City's Jack Grealish to Roy Keane's stance on Cristiano Ronaldo.
Grealish became the first English player to cost £100 million when he made the switch from Aston Villa to Manchester City last summer. The England international was an inspirational figure at his boyhood club and captained Villa for two seasons in the Premier League.
But the 27-year-old playmaker has failed to live up to expectations so far at the Etihad Stadium, scoring just seven times in 53 appearances. Grealish has endured a slow start to this season, scoring once and failing to assist in his 15 games so far this term.
But former Villa forward Agbonlahor continues to defend the Manchester City star, which is clearly irritating for O'Hara. The TalkSPORT pundit stated on the station:
“Jack Grealish, Gabby’s mate, he got dragged off again in the 63rd minute (In Manchester City's clash against Fulham), he’s not giving Man City much."
Agbonlahor replied:
“I don’t think Jack is suffering from a lack of confidence or self-belief, I don’t think so, no. The Jack that I know, the Jack I’ve played with and have been watching play, he’s a confident player, he wants to get at people.
“I think he’s trying, today was frustrating and he looks frustrated, but I looked at the whole Man City forward line and they all looked frustrated today. Teams set up very defensively against them.
“I think Jack, he’s just got to keep playing his game. He’s got that confidence in himself to go and make things happen. Today he was trying, he was trying to make things happen and he was getting shots off. I think Man City fans should keep faith in him. He’ll come good.”
O'Hara didn't accept the sentiment, as he replied:
“Honestly, you’re like Roy Keane with Cristiano Ronaldo! You won’t say a bad word about your pal!”
Former Manchester United captain Keane has been a high-profile defender of Ronaldo, despite the Portugal international enduring a poor season.
Jamie O'Hara not impressed with Manchester City star Jack Grealish this season
Former Tottenham midfielder O'Hara is clearly a fan of Grealish, but feels the attacker should be doing more. The pundit added:
“Jack Grealish is a great player, but he’s not producing, it’s as simple as that. I really like Jack, I’ve got nothing against him, but he keeps getting subbed off early in games, he’s not scoring goals and he’s not getting assists.
“You’re paying £100m for a player who isn’t performing. I’m only saying what I see."