The Athletic’s Roshane Thomas has recently discussed previous transfer interest from Wolverhampton Wanderers and Real Betis in West Ham United’s Michail Antonio.
During the 2019/20 Premier League campaign, the 30-year-old Englishman made only 24 appearances for the Hammers, however, he managed to bag 10 goals (per WhoScored).
Furthermore, over those 24 outings, the attacker managed to earn an impressive 7.29/10 average rating making him their best-performing player.
With the player’s current deal with the Irons set to expire at the end of the current campaign, The Athletic reported during the summer that there had been some previous transfer interest in Antonio.
In the latest episode of The Athletic’s U Irons podcast, Thomas discussed that transfer interest in Antonio and explained how the forward remained loyal to the club.
He said: “I reported in July that there was previous interest from Wolverhampton Wanderers and Real [Betis], the La Liga club.
“Antonio was loyal, he was loyal. He didn’t try and force a move; he was happy at West Ham. Again, it just adds more reasons to why he does deserve a long-term deal at the club.
“[He has] been loyal, been playing great, got called up to the England squad on two occasions – unfortunate to miss out on a cap because of a hamstring injury.”
TIF Thoughts on what Roshane Thomas said about the previous transfer interest in Michail Antonio…
As can be seen in what the journalist had to say regarding the previous transfer interest in Antonio, he believes the loyalty which he has previously shown is a reason why he deserves a long-term contact now.
Does Michail Antonio's loyalty make him deserve a long-term deal with the Hammers?
No, it should be expected
Yes, he should be rewarded
With his current deal set to expire at the end of June next year, hopefully, a new contract is sorted out before too much longer.
Having been the club’s best-performing player last season, he has also repeated the feat so far this term with a 7.25/10 average rating, so, it is clear to see what an impressive player he is for West Ham.