West Ham United stance clear as US clubs join Wolves and Chelsea in Michail Antonio race
West Ham are “adamant” they will not sell Michail Antonio despite sides in America joining the crowd of linked clubs, The Sun reports.
After adding Danny Ings from Aston Villa earlier in the window it was thought that the Hammers star could be allowed to move if a further striker was brought in, with Terem Moffi a target [Dharmesh Sheth, 19 January].
But despite interest growing on the other side of the Atlantic in the long-time Irons forward, and the fact that Antonio himself has claimed he isn’t ruling an exit out [Footballer’s Football Podcast], the club are now clear they don’t want to let him go.
Given Ings is now ruled out with injury on top of summer signing Gianluca Scamacca, and Moffi becoming embroiled in a saga in France with plenty of moving parts, it is now seen as “incredibly unlikely” that West Ham would let go of Antonio despite the increasing interest.
The Sun report says: “After seven years with the Hammers, Antonio has been linked with moves away to Prem rivals Chelsea and Wolves.
“SunSport believe the player’s name has also been circulating around several teams in the United States.”
Can’t risk it
It has become increasingly clear of late that Antonio has reached a point where he is ready to move on, and his candid insight on his podcast suggests a man who knows his time is coming to an end at the London Stadium sooner or later.
However, it looks like a very similar situation to the one that Craig Dawson found himself in at the end of the summer window.
In both cases veteran Irons performers who are well-liked by the fanbase had reason to look elsewhere, and the club were not against the idea until injury problems got in the way.
It is infuriating for everyone involved, since the club can’t accommodate an exit if it will leave them short, but would ideally prefer not to keep an unsettled player on the premises against their will.
Dawson’s departure to Wolves has now gone through this month, after injury to Nayef Aguerd and the exit of Issa Diop made it too much of a gamble to let him go in the summer, and Antonio looks like he will have to wait as well.
He hasn’t been the key player of recent seasons this year and big money spent at the position does signal an end to the time when he was the main man, but the Moffi race aside, it is ultimately injuries to Scamacca and Ings that will probably force him to stay.