There were awkward scenes when Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca delivered a brutal put-down to West Ham star Michail Antonio but it has provided a big wake-up call.
The actions of West Ham and Chelsea ahead of the summer transfer window epitomise the saying ‘how the other half live’.
Chelsea are fresh from emulating the Hammers by winning the UEFA Conference League but also qualified for the Champions League.
West Ham are desperate to sign two new strikers as part of Graham Potter’s rebuild this summer.
But Potter can only sit and watch as his former club Chelsea go out and blitz the market.
The Blues are closing on signing ambitious West Ham target Liam Delap.
Chelsea show West Ham how the other half live
That came just days after they reportedly agreed a deal to sign another top Potter target Emanuel Emegha.
To rub salt in the wound, Chelsea don’t even intend on using Emegha next season, leaving him on loan at feeder club Strasbourg instead.
MORE WEST HAM STORIES
It looks like Chelsea won’t be done there either with moves afoot for Hugo Ekitike while Victor Osimhen and others continue to be linked too.
And Enzo Maresca already has Nicolas Jackson.
What riches compared to the situation across London at West Ham.
Photo by James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images
Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images
Ageing flop Danny Ings is being released, Evan Ferguson has returned to Brighton after a disastrous loan.
That leaves Michail Antonio, who turns 36 next season and is currently battling back from breaking his leg in four places in that horrific car crash back in December, and soon-to-be 33-year-old Niclas Fullkrug.
Antonio is out of contract at West Ham next month after nine years in east London.
Hammers News exclusively revealed West Ham were considering handing Antonio a new one-year deal dependent on his recovery from the leg break.
For the first time in a recent interview, Antonio admitted he could be set to leave West Ham.
The Jamaica striker said the ball was in the club’s court over extending his contract.
But The Athletic’s West Ham reporter Roshane Thomas says an extension is now looking unlikely.
Thomas said: “West Ham have held discussions with Antonio but are unlikely to offer the 35-year-old a new deal. The club have reservations over whether the forward can recapture his previous form.”
Chelsea boss delivers brutal West Ham wake-up call
Now the situation has been brought sharply into contrast for West Ham by the manager of their London rivals.
Chelsea boss Maresca delivered a brutal put-down about West Ham striker Antonio and it’s a big wake-up call.
The Blues are showing what the Hammers are up against by going out and having their pick of the top strikers around.
Meanwhile West Ham are stuck deliberating over whether to hand a near 36-year-old forward yet another new contract amid wildly conflicting opinion among supporters.
Antonio has been a fantastic servant for West Ham.
But Potter has made it clear he wants to rejuvenate the Premier League’s oldest squad around young talent this summer.
Photo by Aitor Alcalde - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
Photo by Aitor Alcalde – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
Potter has proved he can be ruthless with his decision to release long-serving trio Aaron Cresswell, Lukasz Fabianski and Vladimir Coufal. All three arguably had better cases to stay at West Ham, where fans have felt the striker department needs an overhaul for several years.
With the Premier League expected to be much more competitive next season, West Ham can’t afford to rely on Antonio yet again if they are not certain he will still be able to excel – let alone perform – at the top level.
So what Maresca said – and did – to a player he coached during his spell as West Ham’s assistant boss is a stark reminder the club could be a laughing stock.
Because Maresca literally laughed in Antonio’s face when telling the Hammers forward he is “too old” after Joe Cole asked whether he’d bring him to Chelsea.
“I thought you were going to ask him if he needed another number nine (next season),” Cole said to Antonio after he asked Maresca what his ideal season would look like next term.
“We probably do (need a new number nine), but you are too old!” Maresca quipped while squeezing Antonio’s shoulder.
Serious side to Maresca’s hard-to-watch Antonio barb
It was all light-hearted banter – even if Antonio’s face was a picture after Maresca’s cutting comment.
But there is a serious side to that moment.
The man who is currently arguably West Ham’s main striker and one of only two at the club is being openly mocked for being too old by the manager of a competitor.
It was almost like Maresca thought Antonio was retired like the other two pundits on the panel.
Maresca 🗣️ “We approached the first half the wrong way, and that’s on me. Antonine, I would’ve made you my No. 9, but you’re old now. Reece James told me he was going to win the game for Chels & me the moment he said that, I knew it was going to happen”
pic.twitter.com/s4E6nQeui2
— SHAYEE 𒀭 (@tier_first) May 29, 2025
View Tweet
Joking or not it was a cringeworthy moment for West Ham.
Do the club bow to sentimentality and hand Antonio another deal?
Or do Maresca’s comments give the clarity that has been needed in deciding it is time to move on and bring in the kind of talented young strikers West Ham fans have wanted for years now?
West Ham’s striker options should not be the butt of a joke for the manager of a team the club are supposed to be trying to compete with.
The fact they are may suggest it is time for a new era with a send-off arranged for Antonio at one of the club’s games in the near future.