Is this West Ham wide man one of the signings of the season?

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West Ham have gone from strength to strength since their shock 2-0 away win at Arsenal on the opening weekend of the season. Slaven Bilic has been the man who has master minded wins against the Gunners, Manchester City, Tottenham, Chelsea and three against Liverpool. Dimitri Payet, Pedro Obiang and Angelo Ogbonna have been 3 signings that have integrated impressively well in the team. Some very good business by the club’s executives, so good that they sit in 5^th place in the league, with only two defeats in the last 10 games and have a home FA Cup sixth round replay against Manchester United.

It seems like every week we’re talking about the performance of Dimitri Payet but a signing that stands out for me must be the £7 million deadline day signing of Michail Antonio. Many definitely raised an eyebrow and thought £7 million for a Championship player is quite a gamble, running the risk of ending up a flop like another one of West Ham’s signing, Nikica Jelavic. Oh, how we’ve been proven wrong. He’s performances over the course of the season have so far justified his price tag.

Antonio’s route to the Premier League started at Tooting and Mitcham United before a move to Reading. Several loan moves later, he found a home with Sheffield Wednesday in the 2011/12 season, joining them permanently the following season and notching up 66 appearances and 13 goals in two years for the Owls.

The 2014/15 season brought a £1.5 million move to Nottingham Forest. This is where he really made a name for himself. A stellar season in the Championship for Forest saw him start every game, hit 14 league goals (a personal best) and be named as the club’s Player of the Season. A great campaign that attracted the interest of West Ham, so much so that they got their man after week of heavy negotiations.

As debut seasons go his is up there as being good – really good. He’s made 17 league appearances since coming off the bench for his debut away at City. He’s a constant starter in the First XI, he’s only been pulled off the bench on three occasions this season, a sign that Bilic has trust and confidence in the player to start him from the off in every game since the 29^th November. Antonio has found the net six times for the Hammers this season, twice against Liverpool. He has scored in the last three consecutive league games; the winning goals against Sunderland and high flying Tottenham.

According to his Squawka data, he has created 12 goal scoring chances which have yielded two assists, he has a 65% accuracy from 187 passes and a 42% shooting accuracy. Statistics have such a profound affect when building a picture of a player, and from Michail’s stats you could say he’s having a fairly good season. If you take a look at his performances especially the past month it’ll paint a picture that statistics can’t tell.

It was the same again against United in the FA Cup. His shot in the final minutes of the game forced De Gea into a good save, those kind of shots usually creep into the net as the keeper is blinded by all the bodies in his vision. For anyone who has played football competitively, when you’re asked to play in a different position to where you normally play, you’ve got to adapt, stay focused and disciplined – especially if it’s in defence. That’s exactly what Antonio did during Sunday’s performance. Played at right back by Bilic, the former forest man was impressive and solid, dealing well with Martial and then Depay.

The Hammers are having an exceptional season by their standards, they finished in 12^th position last season but this year they’re challenging for 4^th spot. Along with Antonio, Payet, Noble, Reid, Cresswell, Kouyaté, Lanzini, Ogbonna, Obiang, Collins and Adrian the Hammers will probably be welcoming European football to their new home next season.

Michail Antonio has been a good bit of business on West Ham’s end. If he continues his rich vein of form, then come the end of the season David Gold and David Sullivan will look at the £7 million price tag and think it a steal.

Featured image: all rights reserved by Ungry Young Man.