West Ham hero Michail Antonio trains with Premier League club ahead of contract offer
Michail Antonio is edging closer to a return to the Premier League after being released by West Ham in August.
The 35-year-old is determined to return to top-flight football after almost dying in a horrific car crash last December.
In a bid to prove his fitness after shattering his femur, Antonio played in two Premier League 2 matches for West Ham’s Under-21s in August before the decision was made to release him.
Despite not playing a senior game since West Ham lost to Leicester in December, the 24-time Jamaica international looks as though he could be on the verge of winning a contract elsewhere in London.
Michail Antonio trains with Brentford ahead of contract offer
Antonio is reportedly training with Brentford in a bid to win himself a permanent contract with the West London club.
Brentford are currently 16th in the Premier League table and are looking to add firepower to Keith Andrews’ attack after an underwhelming start to the campaign.
In August, Antonio was spotted at Leeds’ training ground.
According to the ever-reliable West Ham insider ExWHUEmployee, Antonio is at Brentford’s training base in Hounslow as he looks to complete a stunning top-flight return.
Speaking to FourFourTwo in August, Antonio confirmed that he’s eager to play again the Premier League again despite suffering such a huge leg injury.
“The first thing the doctor said to me is that, obviously, ‘You’ve broken your leg and but it’s something that you could heal over time, and you will be playing football again’. So, it wasn’t something that I had to worry about whether I could play again,” the former Nottingham Forest forward said.
“It’s down to you and the hard work that you put into it, and I’m a person that’s always been a hard worker. So I managed to do it in half the time that a normal person would.”
He added: “I’m back to normal. I’m ready to go, and now I have something to prove again – and that’s what made me even hungrier.”
When could Michail Antonio play against West Ham if he signs for Brentford?
There’s potentially a lot of work to be done before Brentford seal the deal for Antonio.
Firstly, West Ham’s Europa Conference League winner will need to prove that he’s fit enough to play and secondly, he’ll have to show that he’s capable of playing in the Premier League still.
One of the ex-West Ham forward’s biggest qualities was his pace and power – will that still be there after such a lengthy spell on the sidelines, after such a massive injury?
If Brentford do sign up the London-born Jamaica international, he could play against West Ham as early as 20 October in the two sides’ first game back after the current international break.
That game’s at the London Stadium, too. So it would be a great chance for him to play again.
If he doesn’t make that game, he would have to wait until 2 May when the Bees welcome the Irons to the Gtech Arena.
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