Michail Antonio has become a hero for West Ham for his exploits since his arrival in 2015.
To date, the former Reading and Nottingham Forest attacker has made 284 appearances, scoring 77 goals for the Hammers whilst becoming a cult hero among supporters.
However, there has been a notable drop-off in form this season with David Moyes relying on the hardworking forward for a number of seasons, with that now seemingly catching up on the 33-year-old.
That’s by no means a criticism of Antonio, he has been a reliable performer over recent years, but if West Ham are to capitalise on the quality they currently have, they need to look elsewhere for a forward.
Ironically, five months after Antonio revealed Ricardo Scamacca wasn’t David Moyes’ type of forward, he’s exactly the type of forward the players around him need.
A player capable of playing with his back to goal, who likes the ball to feet will undoubtedly allow the likes of Mohammed Kudus, Jarrod Bowen and Said Benrahma to thrive.
Alas, that ship has sailed but it does highlight West Ham’s desperate need to drop into the transfer market to recruit another forward in a similar mould.
A side pushing for regular European qualification just cannot simply rely on a striker who is in his twilight years and whose best form comes while playing on the counterattack.
The Brentford game was an example of the need to recruit a forward capable of being clinical and coping with the press that comes with a side playing in Europe. The 33-year-old produced an all-time shocker of a miss when lunging ahead of Benrahma and missing an open goal and will almost certainly drop out of the side when Lucas Paqueta returns to fitness.
But all this does is shine a light on recent failures on recruiting a player good enough to play in the David Moyes system, with Antonio the only one thriving in recent years.
