Michail Antonio suggests why West Ham didn’t sign striker in January
West Ham striker Michail Antonio has suggested that he wanted the club to sign another forward in the January window.
The Hammers made several attempts towards the end of the window to land some players, but they failed to materialise.
Antonio, however, has refused to blame the club or the manager, saying David Moyes has his full confidence despite the lack of signings.
“No. No, we never, we never got anyone, not a soul,” Antonio said on Footballer’s Football Podcast.
“But the thing is it is going to be easy to blame the chairman and stuff like that for not signing players because the fans love to do that but in this situation I just feel like the manager did not feel like there were any strikers out there that kind of fits the way he wants to play.
“We put a couple of bids in for a couple of players which did not fulfill at the end of the day but one thing with the manager he knows what he is looking for and once he knows the man that he wants he will go full-hearted after them.”
Big gamble
West Ham had been reportedly linked with a host of strikers in January, but they failed to land one.
The Hammers also wasted a bit of time in chasing players like Kalvin Phillips and Raphinha when it was clear that Leeds United won’t sell their precious assets in the middle of the season.
One of the players the club looked at was Darwin Nunez from Benfica. According to Sky Sports, West Ham had bids rejected for the Uruguay international on the transfer deadline day.
A more pre-planned approach was required from the club.
As a result, it leaves Moyes with only one striker and he has to rely on Antonio for the rest of the campaign. If he picks up an injury or goes through a barren spell, West Ham’s top-four hopes could suffer a big blow.
While one can understand that a manager wants to add players to his own taste, it’s still a poor excuse that Moyes didn’t find any player who would suit his system.
In other West Ham United news, this one Irons star is set for a bumper new deal at the London Stadium as interest sparks GSB into action