West Ham United to make ‘really big’ transfer decision on ‘figure of frustration’ Michail Antonio
West Ham have a “really big choice” to make over whether they look to add a striker in January or try to wait until next summer, according to Dean Jones.
The former Eurosport journalist told GiveMeSport (28 October) that Michail Antonio remains somebody that David Moyes “really likes” and wants to continue to build around, but whom fans are increasingly finding to be a “figure of frustration”, especially in contrast to rivals like Ollie Watkins.
As such the Hammers are now trying to decide whether to replace the Jamaica international as a priority or hold off until the end of the season, with striker tipped to be the main focus through the January window.
Jones said: “I think the position that will gain the most attention for West Ham once we get to the January window will be a striker.
“Michail Antonio is somebody that I know David Moyes really likes and really wants to continue to build around but I think the fans are probably finding him a bit of a figure of frustration at times and that you want somebody who is perhaps, a bit more dynamic or a bit more reliable.
“I’m not sure exactly what the right term is for Antonio. But when you’re playing, for example, at the weekend, and you see what Ollie Watkins is doing at one end for Aston Villa, and then you look at the other end and you wonder what you’re getting out of Antonio, you at least want another option competing with him.
“And that’s what West Ham have got to decide now. They’re trying to make a decision on whether they find someone in January or whether they wait it out until the summer.
“And that is a really big choice, because if they decide to put that off until the summer, I feel like there’s a good chance that the goals start to dry up at some stage.”
Inevitable
It is both to Antonio’s credit and to his rivals’ detriment that he has kept his place as the primary forward in this side for so long.
A converted utility man who used to play as a right-back, he has shown admirable resilience to see off various new arrivals, with Gianluca Scamacca and Danny Ings the latest to have failed to displace the 33-year-old.
In Moyes’ style of play his selflessness up front has been vital at times, but one way or another West Ham are going to have to find a more regular scorer.
With two goals in the first three Premier League games this season, in wins against Chelsea and Brighton, it looked like perhaps Antonio could mask the failure to capture a late replacement for Scamacca in the summer but he hasn’t scored for two months now.
Mohammed Kudus looked to be a potential option up front when he was signed from Ajax in the summer, but Moyes has been reluctant to play him anywhere as much as fans would like.
And with results becoming much more patchy there are inevitably now doubts about how long the manager stays in place.
Having attempted to sign the likes of Hugo Ekitike and Yuri Alberto before the transfer deadline it seems likely that the club will try to bring in another striker in the winter, but they are going to need to improve on their recent track record when it comes to signing scorers.
In other West Ham news, an update on a Hammers contract mystery has emerged with a European giant showing “strong interest” in a first-team regular.