West Ham transfer news: Chelsea wanted Michail Antonio in shock January move

By Ben Evans

Chelsea were interested in a shock move for West Ham United forward Michail Antonio in the January transfer window.

That’s according to The Athletic, who believe the 32-year-old was on Graham Potter’s radar last month.

It ended up being one of the most hectic transfer windows in history at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues signed eight players in January, and saved the biggest until last.

In the final moments of deadline day, Enzo Fernandez signed from Benfica for a club-record fee.

It’s a huge statement of intent from Chelsea’s new owners, who have given Potter a huge number of options.

He’s now got to work out what his best team is, and make a late bid to finish in the top four of the Premier League.

Chelsea were tempted to bring in West Ham forward Antonio as well, but the move never materialized.

Chelsea wanted West Ham forward Antonio

The Athletic’s report states that, ‘Michail Antonio — the club’s all-time top scorer in the Premier League — is likely to depart this summer following a failed attempt to move in the January transfer window.

‘Wolves, Chelsea and Everton were all interested in the 32-year-old forward.’

The £7m forward was subject to plenty of transfer speculation over the course of the month.

The Daily Mail reported towards the end of the window that the Hammers were ready to sell him.

However, after their FA Cup victory over Derby on Monday, Moyes made it clear it would be mad for the club to let him go.

Gianluca Scamacca and Danny Ings both have poor fitness records, and losing Antonio too would make little sense.

Chelsea have an injury issue of their own up-front, with Armando Broja out for the rest of the campaign.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has fallen out of favour with Potter too, incredibly leaving him short of centre-forward options.

Chelsea’s main target from West Ham is Declan Rice, and a summer move for Antonio’s teammate could happen.

However, Potter may be less inclined to bring the England international in after Fernandez’s record transfer.