Michail Antonio tells ‘quality’ player to leave after he’s linked with West Ham

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Michail Antonio has told Harry Maguire to leave Manchester United after the defender has been heavily linked with a move to West Ham.

Antonio has been speaking on the Footballer’s Football Podcast and discussed Maguire’s potential move to West Ham. 

Maguire looked set to complete a switch to the London Stadium after West Ham agreed a £30 million deal to sign the England international.

But Sky Sports reported yesterday that a move has fallen through and Maguire now looks set to stay at Old Trafford.

Michail Antonio was speaking about the proposed move before it broke down and he urged Maguire to leave Manchester this summer.

Antonio on Maguire future

Speaking on the Footballer’s Football Podcast, Antonio discussed Maguire’s future amid interest from West Ham.

“He’s still there,” he said. “Obviously, I feel like the two clubs have agreed but it’s now down to what the player wants to do. With the two clubs agreeing I think he has another three years at Man United and West Ham aren’t paying his Man United money, so it’s like there is so much things behind the two clubs agreeing before the player can actually get to the club.

“I feel like Maguire still has talks with Man United about the left over money he’s not getting paid at West Ham and he also needs to sort out his wages that he’s getting at West Ham.

“He also needs to think about whether he wants to move down to a London club, because I’m pretty sure he’s a northern boy anyway.

“There’s a lot of things he needs to sort out in his own mind, whether he wants to leave one of the biggest clubs in the world, whether he wants to keep fighting and see if he gets another opportunity.

“I understand the two clubs have agreed, the club might not want to get rid of him, but football changes quickly. There could be a lot of injuries and he could think to himself I could have another chance and I can still show my ability.

“I feel like he is a quality player and I know once he gets his confidence back and people stop ripping into him and give him an opportunity to showcase himself again, I feel like he will actually do well.

“I just feel like it’s been more like – people just been bullying, I think it’s bullying basically. I’ll say it straight.

“How well and how quality the boy has been playing, to the stage where he’s now a shadow of himself, whereas before when he was at Hull and Leicester he was driving with the ball, beating people, finding passes but now he gets on the ball and he’s looking nervous when he was never that type of player.

“So I think possibly leaving United could make him better.”

Of course, it seems unlikely that Maguire will end up at West Ham now after his proposed move to the London Stadium collapsed.

But Antonio makes a great point that it feels like the right time for the centre-back to move in.

He’s struggled for form and confidence over the past couple of years and has also fallen down the pecking order under Erik ten Hag.

It’s a shame he won’t be moving to West Ham as he seemed like a good fit for David Moyes’ system.