West Ham: £100k-a-week star’s form ‘had big knock-on effect’ at London Stadium | OneFootball

West Ham United may ‘feel light at the top end of the pitch’ due to the underwhelming form of Michail Antonio, journalist Paul Brown has told GiveMeSport.

The 32-year-old has been unable to hit the heights of previous seasons so far, contributing to the east London outfit’s disappointing performances in the Premier League.

Antonio was heavily linked with a move away from West Ham throughout January, with Wolverhampton Wanderers reportedly keen to secure his services.

GiveMeSport VIDEO OF THE DAY

Play Video

TalkSPORT reported that Wolves manager Julen Lopetegui had identified the Jamaica international as a top target capable of strengthening his forward options at Molineux.

However, West Ham boss David Moyes then claimed that the capital club had ‘no intention’ of letting Antonio depart in the winter window.

“Well, it’s not the club talking about Micky Antonio, I think Micky is the one talking about it,” said the Scottish tactician. “Micky said it, but we here have got no intention of doing anything. Sometimes players choose to do that, some of them want to go.”

Antonio ended up staying put at West Ham after a formal offer failed to materialise, and he will surely be eager to turn his form around in the second half of the season.

What has Brown said about Antonio?

When asked if West Ham are short of options in the final third of the pitch, Brown told GMS that Antonio’s drop-off compared to recent years has contributed to that sentiment.

He said: “I think West Ham feel light at the top end of the pitch because Michail Antonio is not performing as he has done in the last few seasons.

“He was such a big part of that team, and whether it's age finally catching up with him or anything else, I don't know, but he's clearly not quite been the same player this season. And that's had a big knock-on effect.”

How well has Antonio been playing?

Antonio, who earns a reported £100,000-per-week, has been a crucial cog in West Ham’s success over the last couple of campaigns.

The versatile attacker registered 10 goals and five assists in 26 Premier League appearances for the east London outfit in 2020/21 before racking up an impressive 24 goal contributions in 47 outings last term.

Antonio ended a six-game goal drought against League One outfit Derby County in the FA Cup recently, though, taking his tally to six goals and four assists in 27 games this season.

With Gianluca Scamacca and Danny Ings out injured, there is a lot of pressure on Antonio’s shoulders to provide the necessary firepower needed to propel West Ham up the table.