Aston Villa captain Gabby Agbonlahor in laughing gas storm

The Sun newspaper reports that Agbonlahor, 29, was seen drinking shots and horsing around with an entourage of hangers-on at London’s Mayfair Hotel just hours after Villa’s 1-0 loss to Manchester United at Old Trafford saw the Midlands club jettisoned from the top flight.

The £60,000-a-week striker – dubbed ‘Flabby Gabby’ because of the extra weight he appears to have put on during Villa’s disastrous campaign – was also pictured partying in a hotel room with friends and two girls, surrounded by empty canisters of the legal high nitrous oxide.

Overweight and unfit Agbonlahor, who has scored just one goal all season, was left out of the Villa side put out of their misery by a Marcus Rashford strike on Saturday. The former England international is currently supposed to be on a personal fitness regime.

It’s not the first time Agbonlahor has been pictured using laughing gas at a party. In September photos emerged of the striker inhaling the gas from a balloon in a friend’s kitchen. Another photo showed Agbonlahor with a different balloon in his mouth playing a joke on a sleeping friend.

Agbonlahor is not the only Premier League footballer to have been caught up in a nitrous oxide storm. West Brom striker Saido Berahino, who missed two penalties in his side’s 1-0 loss to Watford on Saturday, was last year also pictured apparently indulging in the legal high.

Possession of nitrous oxide – also known as 'laughing gas' or 'hippy crack' – is not illegal, although it is prohibited from being sold in England and Wales to under-18s if there is a risk they will inhale it. Abuse of the gas can lead to oxygen deprivation resulting in loss of blood pressure, fainting and even heart attacks.

This latest indiscretion from a player who was recently axed after being spotted smoking a shisha pipe and drinking champagne on a trip to Dubai will further antagonise fans of the relegated club. Social media is already awash of criticism of both the player and club.

One said: "Gabby is a disgrace – let him defend his actions now." Another added: "The whole club is being run like a joke shop."

Earlier in the season defender Joleon Lescott found himself in hot water after tweeting a picture of a luxury car moments after Villa were hammered 6-0 at home to Liverpool. Lescott angered fans once again on Saturday when he described the club's confirmed relegation as "a weight off the shoulders".

The comment provoked much ire from former Villa legends Paul McGrath and Stan Collymore, with McGrath labelling Lescott a "slime bag" who only joined Villa for the money, and Collymore branding the former Manchester City and England defender a "disgrace".