The sight of Michail Antonio marking his Brentford debut with a goal to ruin Nuno Espirito Santo’s London Stadium debut would have summed up West Ham United’s miserable start to the Premier League campaign somewhat.
And, in an era where it feels like anything that could go wrong does go wrong for the Hammers, those with their glasses half empty and all out of patience could have been forgiven for fearing the worst when it emerged that Michail Antonio was training at Brentford last week.
Monday’s opponents in East London offered West Ham United’s record Premier League goalscorer the chance to build up his fitness behind the scenes in the west of the capital.
Had Brentford decided to offer the veteran forward a short-term deal, then, a Bees bow could have been on the cards against the club for whom he scored 83 goals in 323 matches.
Fortunately, a potentially humiliating narrative can now be put to bed.
The Evening Standard reported, almost as soon as the rumours emerged, that Keith Andrews’ relegation-threatened Brentford would not be signing Antonio after all.
Keith Andrews says Brentford will not sign West Ham United icon Michail Antonio
Now, speaking at his pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon, Andrews confirms that the Conference League winner has now left the building after picking up a slight injury.
“Michail was in training for a week, ten days,” says Thomas Frank’s replacement at the Gtech Community Stadium.
“He picked up a little knock, so he’s just been in and out really.”
Despite not playing a single minute of competitive club football since suffering a broken leg in a car crash ten months ago, Antonio insists that he still has a lot to offer even at the age of 35.
“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,” he told talkSPORT in August after close friend Callum Wilson took his number nine shirt at West Ham.
“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.”
Opportunities could still present themselves. In particular, Marco Silva’s Fulham seem in need of attacking reinforcements after losing both of their first-choice centre-forwards – Rodrigo Muniz and Raul Jimenez – to injury.
Antonio also confirmed, during that talkSPORT interview, that he had held discussions with clubs both in England and 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.”
Nuno weighing up Callum Wilson and Callum Marshall after Niclas Fullkrug blow
Speaking of injuries to centre-forwards, Niclas Fullkrug underwent a ‘scan’ late this week after picking up a thigh issue. Nuno still has Callum Marshall and Callum Wilson at his disposal, while he also has the option of rejigging the attack by shifting Jarrod Bowen into a central role.
It did not go unnoticed among some West Ham fans, meanwhile, that Luis Guilherme appeared to stand out in training while his more established teammates were on international duty.
Putting Bowen at centre-forward, in Fullkrug’s absence, would potentially open up a spot on the wings for the young Brazilian.
“[Fullkrug] just had a scan. We are waiting for the results,” Nuno said. “Then, we can say exactly [how long] he is going to be out, and all these things. It depends on the scan, on each player’s own timing. Hopefully, [Fullkrug’s return will come] sooner.
“George is still out. The rest are OK. The players that came from the national teams are OK, so [that is] good.
“[Wilson vs Marshall is] a healthy fight for a position. Two different players, two different generations, but we count on both of them to try and solve our problems.”
