West Ham must cash-in on expendable Michail Antonio in January

By Josh Challies

West Ham have struggled to find consistency under Manuel Pellegrini despite the Chilean boss’ vast spending spree in the summer.

The former Manchester City boss splashed in excess of £100m this summer to land the likes of Andriy Yarmolenko and Felipe Anderson, who have provided an improvement to the Hammers’ attacking ranks after showing promising signs.

With the duo starting to forge a healthy relationship alongside Marko Arnautovic, Pellegrini’s attacking line-up chooses itself and there is not much need for further additions in this area in January, where departures should be the priority.

(Photo by Rob Newell – CameraSport via Getty Images)

According to Claret & Hugh, Premier League rivals Crystal Palace could reignite their interest in Michail Antonio and this is something that West Ham should certainly be looking to take advantage of if that is the case.

The former Nottingham Forest ace is no longer a regular starter following the signings of Yarmolenko and Felipe Anderson, although he has featured in seven of the club’s eight Premier League matches this season, and the fee West Ham would receive for his services would help provide funds to improve problem areas within the squad.

Back in the summer, reports said a sale of Antonio could fetch around £15m and any bids worth that sort of amount must be considered in the New Year.