West Ham forward Michail Antonio and his team of representatives are holding out for a deal with a higher basic wage, Claret & Hugh can reveal.
The Hammersâ Premier League all-time top goalscorer is still in the process of recovering from injury and has been in dialogue with the club over a new contract.
But as C&H exclusively reported yesterday afternoon, Antonio has only been offered a short-term deal based on appearances. This is because the club remain uncertain whether the player will return to peak fitnessâbut they are understood to be happy to review the situation should the 35-year-old make a full recovery from the injuries he sustained in a road traffic accident before Christmas.
The offer from West Ham remains on the table, and the club are willing to negotiate further. However, any chance of Antonio being offered anything comparable to his current wage of over ÂŁ85k per week is not going to happen.
It is understood that the Hammers No.9âs representatives have let it be knownâboth publicly and directly to West Hamâthat they have better offers on the table.
“It is understood that the Hammers No.9âs representatives have let it be knownâboth publicly and directly to West Hamâthat they have better offers on the table.” – that’s great. He should take one of them
Just let him go! Seriously this is not where anybody at the club should be focusing their time, energy or money. Good player for us but well past his best and he wasnât injured playing so I donât think the club owes him anything. Move on and find the next generation, and do it properly!
Reality check …
– Next season the Big German will be gone or injured.
– History says we won’t buy another good striker.
– Bowen will be pushed up front again.
– No strikers to call on when we are chasing games.
OK we’ve got young Callum Marshall back from loan and some keen youngsters that may or may not make the grade and Micky is past his best but if it’s a pay and play deal then at least we have an impact sub.
ÂŁ85,000 a week and despite the club standing by him after only scoring 1 goal this season he wants a better deal!! You have got to be joking. he’s nowhere near PL standard at 35 and still to prove he can fully recover and play at top level again. He should show the same loyalty to the club which they have and be grateful for a short term deal. Not worth the risk.
Why are we even entertaining any sort of deal for a 35 year old, who doesn’t score, not interested in sentimentality if Ant has better deals on the table let him take one of them. Another ridiculous episode in Sullivans long list of ridiculous episodes.
If the choice is 5 million for Antonio but relegation for Westham because they can’t afford another striker , the decision is simple . Prior to the accident his powers had diminished and unfortunately there won’t be a 100 percent recovery from a totally smashed leg because there never is ( the surgery involves butchering the muscles to allow for insertion of many pins ).
Useless donkey get rid.
Good luck Micky better offers good for you
Great player for us BUT at his age after what he has been through although i will be sad to see him go I think he is being unfair to the club and to himself trying to bribe himself a better deal There cant be that many clubs that will pay him what he earns now at his age and not being sure if he can do 90 mins every week
Mikey loves the camera so why not persue a career in punditry? I think he could be quite good at it.
… or even pursue. (Sorry, typo)
Sentiments aside, the club shouldn’t be offering him any kind of deal at the age of 35.
Spot on. Respect the past, accept the present.
If Michail has a better offer then he should snap it up immediately. Unless, of course, he values his lifestyle and spending his time at West Ham as a club icon.
Low mileage is in his favour and it would be great to see him in claret and blue for another couple of seasons. Being realistic, we have to plan for the present and the future. Antonio starting while we introduce others will be good but that will probably be it.
He could be a shining star elsewhere.
COYI
Not worth 100 a week been leeching off the club for 2 years .good excuse to say goodbye. And start again even moyse wouldn’t sign him
The only sensible comment so far.
Dont blame him for wanting a higher basic pay…Because he doesnt know if he will fully recover….So why not get what you can on a short term deal?…He has been here long enough to know how the club operate regarding wages etc….Get what you can Mikey!….If they want you bad enough then they will cough up…Youve certainly earned the right to play hardball with the tight bastards.
So you want players to suck available funds from us instead of using that wisely on younger assets?
He has been robbing the club for the last 2 years! Time to go and take up car racing đđđđ
Not sure why you think ‘they’ are tight bastards when most fans seem to think they over pay for players in fees and over pay them in wages.
Hes a multi millionaire who will never have to worry about money for the rest of his life ,west ham don’t have to offer him anything hes out of contract yet because he crashed his car he should be treated any different than a loyal player like cresswell and be given another contract which apparently he doesn’t like and wants more ,the club has been more than generous offering him a lifeline with no guarantee its going to bear fruit think hes pushing his luck if anyone deserves another year its cresswell not Antonio
Exactly. We’ve let Coufal, Creswell, Fabianski go but we should hang onto Antonio?? The fact that this is even being discussed shows the internal chaos at the club. He didn’t sustain his injuries playing football. He drove his car into a tree. He is lucky to be having any offers. I’m really happy he does. He should take one of them
The club have been trying to replace him for years. He is now 35, best years behind him & injury prone.
Demanding higher wages after standing by him since his accident is a major pi$$ take, the contract extention is the club being loyal to the guy.
Prove you can play, make a contribution & show the same loyalty back
Even Lucas Paqueta wouldnât buy a car from Antonio!
Let him go then. He’s done a great job but he’s thrown his toys out every time he’s had competition for a place. It wasn’t like Oggy who earned the extra year, this guy crashed a car when nobody else was near him and then expects the club to pay for it.
Then we must stand our ground and wave him off with a thanks for the memories
I think that Mikey deserves the dignity of conducting his negotiations in private – so I suggest that C&H and other sites wait for the official announcement and fans wait to comment until we actually know what the outcome is
COYI
Antonioooo
When has Sullivan or Brady ever conducted our business in private?
Theyâve always used their friendly media, newspapers and C&H to push their agendas!
Well said zahama!
If funds are as tight as indicated then offer to Antonio is fair.
Has been a loyal whu player but scratching around to fund several new players looks to be a vulnerable situation.
He’s not in a position to haggle so if there’s better offers let him go.
An unknown quantity at present time.
lol, his Agents probably know what a bunch of mugs West Ham are.
If you had one leg you could probably get six months.
Thanks for the memories Antonio, see ya later mate !
Antonios time is up as a player who adds value at premier league level, it was up before his accident. He needs to look at whether to retire or to play at a lower level.
Iâd say Sullivanâs time is also up as he too does not add value at Premiership level either!
Get rid been stealing a wage the last 2 years.Was finished 2 years ago
Absolutely !
Antonio is no longer a Premiership level player. Big character and will always be remembered for what he gave to the club.
Think he would suit a team in the warmer parts of America or maybe Mexico. That way he can still play for Jamaica without long haul flights.
We will operate with a smaller squad which means there is no place for him even on a pay as you play basis.
Take the better offers. The club stood with you after this accident (likely caused by your error), youâve provided no proof that you are going to be able to play at the PL level and yet you seem to think you are in a position of strength in the negotiations. The likelihood is that you will be a waste of a squad space. The club has sone the decent thing and offered you a contract. Thatâs more than most would do. Even before the accident you seemed more interested in âdeveloping your careerâ in social media than playing.
I canât see any realistic possibility of Antonio playing again in the Premier League- given his apparent injuries – & if he does, it wonât last for very long. So, if he has better offers elsewhere, he would be well advised to accept one of them. He has been a loyal & effective player for us, so I wish him well; but, surely, his West Ham time is up.
Agree 100% . 4.5 million a year on the off chance he may recover is a non starter.
Why on earth would we want to resign Antonio? He struggled to perform for all of last season and was hardly looking to be any better this season prior to his accident. He has been a very well paid player who will (and should) always remain popular amongst Hammers fans but his time is up. Let him move to another club and if he can’t get one straightaway he should be able to use our training and medical facilities as a recognition of his long service.
lowlife sullivan knows nothing about loyalty, antonio is a west ham all time great and should get a years contract at his wage he was already on sullivan has just finished paying danny ings a fortune of wich we got nothing in return, and now hes off the wage bill surely theres enough money to pay an all time great a wage his loyalty deserves.
We need to stop paying players that canât cut it in the Premiership like Ings, Antonio & Rodriguez!
He should be a multi millionaire on what we’ve paid him, he’d need to be a spendthrift not to be. Paying someone in that position a wage that they don’t live up to is frankly barmy.
Antonio is probably hoping for a better deal so he can pay his car insurance đđđ
So you are suggestion we replace the money wasted on paying one non playing old high wage striker who is no longer good enough for the premier league directly with another ? Letâs get noble back in the squad just because he was an all time great too.
Hahaha