Michail Antonio has established himself as a Premier League star with West Ham.
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The Hammers ace’s route to the top has been a completely unique one, however.
In fact, there aren’t may Premier League players who can tell a story like Micky can, if any at all.
The 31-year-old West Ham star was born in Wandsworth, south-west London.
Buy his own admission, he was raised in a tough, working-class area where he had the option to join a gang, as quoted via UEFA.com:
“In the area I grew up, there were loads of gangs and stuff like that, and I was a bit of a fighter growing up. So, it was easy to be attracted to it, but I had my brother there giving me good advice, telling me it’s pointless joining gangs, and things like that. I’ve always listened to him.”
Micky obviously made the right decision, thanks to his brother. It took him a while before he cracked it at the highest level, however.
Potential gang member to Premier League star: West Ham ace’s incredible journey
Antonio began his career with non-league Tooting and Mitcham.
The versatile ace then continued his journeyman career by joining Reading in 2008.
Over the course of the next four years, Antonio spent loan spells with Cheltenham, Southampton, Colchester and Sheffield Wednesday before joining the Owls on a permanent deal in the summer of 2012.
The Jamaica international swapped Hillsborough for Nottingham Forest in 2014 before making his move to West Ham in September 2015.
Antonio began life with the Hammers as a right midfielder and also operated on both wings. Incredibly, he was then deployed as a right-back by Slaven Bilic for large spells of the season.
Whilst Micky was used sporadically up front by previous managers, it wasn’t until David Moyes took over at the London Stadium for the second time in December 2019 when he began to really show his quality in the centre-forward role.
Since football resumed after the first lockdown last year, Antonio has bagged 24 goals and 10 assists in 46 games in all competitions (Transfermarkt). Those are some really impressive numbers for someone who wasn’t even a natural forward!
What an incredible journey.
He is far from a journeyman now of course. Micky is a Premier League star – an elite striker on the very biggest stage.
In other news…Report: West Ham eyeing shock move to sign £15m ace to replace £60k-a-week man
Thank God David Moyes had the foresight to convert Antonio into a centre-forward. There really are not many better in the Premier League than the 31-year-old when he’s on form.
His rise to the top has been truly exceptional. And it just goes to show what smart decision making and hard work can do.
Antonio is a player who all young footballers should look up to and aspire to be.
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