Speaking recently on The West Ham Way Podcast, ExWHUemployee claimed that Michail Antonio could be available for selection for West Ham United’s Premier League clash with Aston Villa.
Since joining West Ham from Nottingham Forest in what was an £8.55 million deal back in 2015, Antonio has gone on to feature 160 times for the club, scoring 41 goals and providing 22 assists along the way.
So far this season, the £10.8 million-rated 30-year-old has highly impressed over his six Premier League appearances for David Moyes’ side, scoring three goals and averaging a WhoScored match rating of 7.25 – ranking him as the club’s best performer in the top flight.
However, after being withdrawn in the second half of the club’s 1-1 draw with Manchester City back in October, in which Antonio scored a spectacular overhead kick, the forward has not featured in any of West Ham’s last three league games due to a hamstring injury.
Although, speaking on a recent episode of The West Ham Way Podcast, ExWHUemployee claimed that he believes Antonio could feature in next Monday’s clash with Aston Villa.
He said: “I think with Antonio due to be available for selection against Aston Villa, I would still continue with [Sebastien] Haller up top on his own and Antonio on the bench, because of a couple of reasons.
“I don’t want to rush Antonio back, and I like to try [and] give forwards, particularly, a chance to build upon when they’ve scored, and when you’ve paid £45 million for one, you obviously want to do all you can to get him to perform.
“So, I would keep him as the forward. If we’re not winning, I would then bring Antonio on to play alongside Haller and go for the win, because I think we’ve got to try and beat the likes of Aston Villa.”
Do you think Michail Antonio should start against Villa?
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TIF Thoughts on ExWHUemployee’s comments regarding Michail Antonio…
From ExWHUemployee’s comments, it is clear that the podcaster is of the belief that Antonio will be available for selection for the Aston Villa match, however, he feels that Moyes should stick with Haller in the starting XI.
However, while rushing Antonio back from injury could aggravate his hamstring problem, in our opinion, if the 30-year-old is deemed fit enough to start the game by the West Ham medical team, he should do so, as his attacking statistics much better Haller’s.
So far this season, Antonio has averaged three shots per game, in comparison to Haller’s 1.3, has made an average of one key pass per game, in contrast to Haller’s 0.6, and has completed an average of 2.2 dribbles per game, in comparison to Haller’s 0.4.
As such, in order to give Moyes’ side the best possible chance of victory against Villa, it would seem that Antonio is the much better option up front.