With Jamaica exiting the CONCACAF Gold Cup and his contract at Premier League outfit West Ham United expiring, who knows which colours Michail Antonio will be wearing the next time he takes to the pitch.
The long-serving centre-forward is due to leave the London Stadium at the end of this month, after all.
Talks between Michail Antonio and West Ham stalled a few weeks back, with another highly-experienced player joining Aaron Cresswell, Vladimir Coufal and Lukasz Fabianski in heading towards the exit.
Simon Jordan, the former Crystal Palace owner and a man who knows more than most about the ins and outs of contract negotiations, summed it up pretty well.
West Ham would be taking a ‘huge risk’ from a financial standpoint, Jordan explains, if they were to extend the reported £85,000-a-week deal of a 35-year-old forward who has not played a Premier League match since December due to a broken leg.
But as Michail Antonio steps up his ‘miracle’ comeback seven months after that horror car crash – he made his long-awaited first appearance of 2025 in the yellow of Jamaica recently – West Ham United’s all-time top Premier League goalscorer feels like a man with a point to prove.
Given that Antonio has spent his entire career disproving the doubters, only the bravest would bet against him proving said point, too.
Jamaica and West Ham United striker Michail Antonio FBL-COPA AMERICA-2024-ECU-JAM
Photo by CHRIS CODUTO/AFP via Getty Images
West Ham United ace Michail Antonio ready to prove he is a man reborn
Speaking before Jamaica were obliterated 4-1 by Panama in their final group stage match of the Gold Cup campaign, Michail Antonio insisted that simply returning to the pitch is one thing.
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Proving that he is capable of once again becoming the all-action centre-forward who struck fear into the heart of centre-backs all throughout the Premier League, however, is another, much greater challenge.
One he is determined to achieve.
“It was a bit of a surprise to be back so early!” admits Antonio; the West Ham veteran only needed three months to start running again. “But it’s something I worked hard for, the graft that I put in to be here.
“I am happy for the experience. Hopefully, I can keep showing what I can do and I can show people that I’m not just back, I’m [also] playing well.”
Antonio fights through the nerves during Jamaica’s Gold Cup campaign
Michail Antonio ‘changed the game’ in Jamaica’s favour during a brief cameo at the end of the Reggae Boyz’ Gold Cup opener against Guadeloupe.
That was one of three substitute appearances the former Nottingham Forest man managed in the competition. Three appearances which, in the end, totalled over half-an-hour of action combined.
“It was very important for me that very first game, just to prepare for it,” explains Antonio, who admits to having felt his heart pump a little faster on the eve of the battle.
“On the coach, on the way to the game, I felt a bit nervous. It was the very first time playing football again after the experience I’ve been through. Even walking through the changing rooms, a couple of the boys said, ‘Mike, are you alright?’. I was kind of zoned out!
“But obviously when the opportunity came to be to go on the pitch, the first sprint, the first touch, the challenges I’ve been used to because I’ve been training for quite a bit, kind of got me back.
“It was like muscle memory. The body was ready for it and I was excited. The training has carried me through. Obviously, after the games, you get a bit stiff. You have to make sure you look after your body right and this is what I’ve been doing.
“So each game, ready, raring to go and wait for my opportunity to come again.”
Only time will tell which kit Michail Antonio is wearing the next time he features on a competitive stage.