West Ham United striker Michail Antonio has continued to lead the line for us this season.
Niclas Fullkrug was brought to West Ham in the summer to be our main striker, but his injury problems have meant that Michail Antonio has performed that role instead.
It was claimed last week that Michail Antonio has actually been offered to Galatasaray by agents and intermediaries.
The former Nottingham Forest forward, 34, has regressed badly over the past year or so.
If we’re being honest with ourselves, he’s just not the player he once was.
Michail Antonio of West Ham United runs with the ball whilst under pressure from Jorginho of Arsenal during the Premier League match between West H...
Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images
Sure, he still battles hard against opposition defenders, but I don’t know about you, I want my striker to actually score goals!
One goal in 14 games this season just isn’t good enough, regardless of how hard he works (Transfermarkt).
Michail Antonio twist as West Ham source responds to rumours
The Hammers forward put in a fine display against Newcastle this time last week, but he was poor during our 5-2 defeat to Arsenal.
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There’s just no consistency from Antonio anymore.
He will be out of contract at the London Stadium in the summer of 2025.
So what does the future hold for Antonio? Could he leave the Hammers at the end of the season after 10 years of service?
It seems like the door is very much still open for him to remain with us for another year.
West Ham insider Sean Whetstone took to his official X account in response to rumours that Micky could leave the club.
And Whetstone denied those claims:
I find that to be quite astonishing.
Are we seriously contemplating offering Antonio a one-year extension when it’s obvious to see he’s well past his best?
Michail Antonio can’t use West Ham purely to maintain fitness
There should be no sentimentality involved when offering players new contracts.
It may sound harsh, but there is no room for it at elite level sport.
The Hammers seem to hold onto players for much longer than we should – Aaron Cresswell is a perfect case in point.
And now West Ham are in danger of doing the same thing with the likes of Michail Antonio and Vladimir Coufal.
West Ham United's English midfielder #09 Michail Antonio (L) vies with Arsenal's Italian midfielder #20 Jorginho (R) during the English Premier Lea...
Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images
Antonio is on big wages at the London Stadium – believed to be around £100k-a-week, and he’s reportedly open to leaving us.
So why not let him go, and finally address our ongoing centre-forward problems.
The addition of two young strikers with blistering pace would take us to another level entirely.
Judging by Whetstone’s claim though, it seems like West Ham could be stuck with Michail Antonio until at least the summer of 2026.
That just sums us up as a club right now in my opinion.
Bizarre decisions are being made about certain players, all of which are underlined by a real lack of ambition.
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