WHZ View: Jamaica and West Ham could be too much for Antonio
West Ham star Michail Antonio hasn’t been selected in the Jamaica national squad despite reportedly pledging his allegiances to the Reggae boyz.
The striker has twice been called up for England but has failed to ever make an appearance. According to Sky Sports, he decided to switch to Jamaica in an attempt to play international football.
But in the latest Jamaican squad announcement, Antonio was nowhere to be seen. There were six new call ups to English based players, but the Hammers striker was not included. In come Curtis Tilt (Wigan), Amari Bell (Blackburn), Ethan Pinnock (Brentford), Liam Moore (Reading), Wesley Harding (Rotherham) and Andre Gray (Watford).
The Jamaica squad are due to face the USA on March 25 in the Wiener Neustadt Stadium, Austria.
A matter of time
From a selfish point of view, this is clearly good news for Hammers fans. If we had it our way, Antonio would be wrapped in bubble wrap during the international break. He’s so important to us, the thought of him travelling to play under different management is a concern.
Moyes has made no secret of the strict training regime that Antonio is under. There have already been two periods this season that he’s been missing from the side. He’s been able to start just 17 of our 28 Premier League games. Frustratingly, when he returns from a layoff, Antonio tends to need one or two games to get going again.
The 30-year-old has scored seven and assisted three in the league. Without his goal involvements, we’d be 11 points worse off. We’d be in the bottom half of the table and not in the hunt for European football.
Ultimately, the call will one day come for him. It’s a concern to think he’d be travelling halfway around the world, we’ve already seen him be rested this season due to fatigue. So much pressure has been put on his shoulders with the sale of Sebastian Haller.
If Antonio wants to go and play international football, who are we to stop him? He’s definitely good enough to play at that level, but has been unfortunate with the competition for places with the England side as of late. Let’s just hope that, when the call up inevitably does come, he is able to stay fit when he’s away.
In other West Ham news, here are three things to look out for when we host Arsenal on Sunday.