West Ham United deal for Gianluca Scamacca may be the end for Michail Antonio
West Ham are close to the signing of Italian striker Gianluca Scammaca but could his arrival spell the end for Michail Antonio?
The Hammers have agreed a deal with Sassuolo for the 23-year-old frontman as reported by Sky Sports’ Dharmesh Sheth on Friday (22 July), and he is set to become the club’s fourth signing of the summer barring any late developments.
However, could this affect the Jamaica international’s game time as Antonio has not been in the best form recently and may have to take a backseat to the new signing.
Trouble for Antonio?
The former non-league man has become an integral player for the London club, developing his game and using his pace, energy and immense strength to become a master-marksman in the Premier League.
Since moving to the club in 2015, he has made 224 appearances in all competitions scoring 60 goals and providing 37 assists during that time.
Last season, the striker became the club’s all-time top scorer in the Premier League, overtaking Paolo di Canio in the rankings and cementing himself as one of the club’s best-ever forwards.
However, he did suffer an undeniable drop in form at the tail end of last season, and he hasn’t had the best to the pre-season either, dropping a poor performance against Luton Town on 23 July.
The incoming Scamacca could either motivate Antonio to have an upturn in form or the Italian could simply take his place in the first team, relegating the former Nottingham Forest player to the bench.
It is unlikely they find a formation that can fit both strikers into the team so time will tell how David Moyes effectively uses both of his frontmen.
In other West Ham news, the club are still trying to complete the signing of Serbian international Filip Kostic.