With Brentford deciding against offering Michail Antonio a contract, one has to wonder whether West Ham United’s record all-time Premier League goalscorer has played his final game at this level.
It is ten months now since the veteran forward last featured in a top-flight match.
And while Michail Antonio did make a miracle return for Jamaica during the summer’s CONCACAF Gold Cup campaign – returning well ahead of schedule – opportunities to resume his club career after that horror car crash back in December 2024 have been few and far between.
The sight of Lukasz Fabianski returning to West Ham United on a short-term basis led to inevitable questions about whether or not the same sort of arrangement could be offered to Antonio.
But, despite continuing to train with the club’s Under-21s after his contract expired in July, West Ham confirmed that Antonio’s story was over as far as his first-team involvement was concerned.
Speculation ramped up again when Antonio was spotted at Brentford last week.
The Evening Standard would quickly squash any rumours regarding a potential contract in West London, however. While Brentford are allowing Michail Antonio the use of their training ground as he looks to keep his fitness up, Keith Andrews and co have ‘no plans’ to add him to their roster.
So, what now? Where does the 35-year-old go from here? A much-discussed reunion with David Moyes at Everton is not going to happen. Brentford have closed the door too.
If there is even the slightest hint of a crack in the proverbial window of opportunity, though, could it be Fulham who smash the glass?
Could Fulham offer West Ham United icon Michail Antonio a fresh start?
Ahead of Saturday’s London derby between Fulham and Arsenal, Marco Silva is likely to be without both of his senior centre-forwards.
Rodrigo Muniz is not expected to return until November, while Raul Jimenez has not been seen since picking up a calf injury immediately after opening the scoring at Aston Villa last month.
The highly-rated Jonah Kusi-Asare is clearly not in contention to start Premier League matches just yet either, at the age of just 18. Head coach Marco Silva started Josh King up top in Muniz and Jimenez’s absence in the 3-1 defeat by AFC Bournemouth last time out.
“It is what it is. It is our reality, and we are going to try to find solutions,” Silva said before that Antoine Semenyo-inspired Bournemouth comeback. “Of course, it’s not an ideal scenario. The ideal scenario is to have the two strikers that normally we use.
“I know that we signed a young lad but [Kusi-Asare] needs time to adapt. He is very, very young, and he’s going to need more time, in my opinion.
“We prepared the season with Rodrigo and Raul. It’s the first time in the last few years that we are without both.”
So, while the West Ham fans have taken aim at the board once again after it was confirmed that Nuno Espirito Santo will be without Niclas Fullkrug after yet another injury, at least the Hammers have Callum Wilson and the admittedly untested Callum Marshall waiting in the wings.
“The fact Marco Silva is considering playing without a recognised striker at Bournemouth is a damning indictment on Fulham’s summer transfer strategy,” Sky Sports’ James Cole wrote a few weeks back.
“Fulham fans will desperately hope Jimenez can recover. But, in the longer-term, they need a third striker in whom their manager has faith.”
Antonio insists he can still perform at Premier League level
It should be said that, right now, there is no indication that Fulham are even considering dipping into the free-agent market in pursuit of a quick fix.
But with Antonio determined to prove that rumours of his demise have been greatly exaggerated, one suspects this is an opportunity he would grab with both hands should things get even more desperate at Craven Cottage.
“I’m speaking to clubs right now to see where the best offer is for me to go, and we’ll just see how it goes,” Antonio told talkSPORT in August, rebuffing any suggestions that his time in football was over.
“We’re talking to clubs here, we’re talking to clubs abroad. I’ve got something to prove to show that I can come back, I can come back and play well, which I was doing for the last ten years.
“Even before I did the car crash, I was starting for West Ham, so it shows that I’ve still got the ability about me and I can do it again.”
Antonio scored a brace for West Ham’s Under-21s against Boreham Wood in July, his poacher’s instincts still as sharp as ever.
“It was very hard to come over [my injury]. It was a 12-month injury, I managed to do it in five and a half months. I managed to play for Jamaica in the summer, and I managed to score two goals in the Under-21s game,” he added. “So, it shows I can still get my goals.
“I’m very good, I’m very happy, I’m very content with where I am. I’m just going to wait for my football club to come in.
“And then I’ll start showing everybody that I’m not just good in my mind, I’m not just good physically, I’m good on the pitch.”
