Feargal Brennan, Ant McGinley and The Athletic’s Sam Lee spoke about the latest goings-on in the Premier League during a recent edition of the Football Social Daily podcast. During this show, the panel spent some time discussing in-form West Ham United man Michail Antonio.
Following this past weekend’s clash with Norwich City, Antonio has now scored in three of his last four Premier League appearances for the Irons. The Englishman was instrumental in helping his side earn all three points against bottom-of-the-table Norwich last weekend, scoring all four goals in a 4-0 win over the Canaries.
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Lee spent some time discussing the in-form 30-year-old and the fact that he has been delivering some impressive goalscoring performances while playing as a centre-forward of late, despite being utilised in other positions more frequently throughout his career. The Athletic writer felt that Antonio’s future may not lie in heading the Hammers attack.
Lee said: “I’m not sure if it’s a long-term solution.
“I’d rather they stuck to that path of trying to get somebody who knows how to play [as a centre-forward] and they think is going to get you the goals. Is Michail Antonio going to get enough [goals] as you would expect? I don’t know.
“I don’t know if he’s good enough for, certainly not a top-six team; could you see Wolves or Leicester signing him? Not really, but he’s obviously a good player in his own right.
“I wouldn’t say keeping him up front is the permanent solution for West Ham, it was Norwich at the end of the day. It’s obviously an achievement to score four goals, but I wouldn’t be basing West Ham’s transfer plans around four goals against Norwich. It was a good achievement but not a long-term suggestion that he can seriously play up front, week in week out for a team that even wants to stay in the division.”
Can West Ham rely on Michail Antonio as a centre forward for the long-term?YES
NO
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TIF Thoughts…
Antonio’s form has undoubtedly been helpful for the Irons in recent games, and he is now West Ham’s top goalscorer for the 2019/20 Premier League season. However, considering that he isn’t a natural centre-forward and has played in other positions more frequently during his career, it may be understandable why Lee is sceptical about whether or not he is good enough to be the Irons’ main attacking threat on a permanent basis.
Given his current form, it may be wise of Irons boss David Moyes to keep playing Antonio as a centre-forward for the time being and time may tell if the £8.55m-rated man is just enjoying an impressive run of form or if he could provide his team with a quality option in that position on a more long-term basis.