£7 million man looked miles off the pace for West Ham United vs Cambridge at the Abbey Stadium last night.
The Hammers took on the League One side in a friendly clash last night’s and on the whole it was a very good run out for the boys.
David Moyes would have been happy with the performances of some of his players, including the likes of Jarrod Bowen, Flynn Downes, Pierre Ekwah and Said Benrahma.
It wasn’t all good for Moyes though. The performance of one player in particular would have given him grounds for concern…
One player looked miles off the pace for West Ham vs Cambridge
Michail Antonio joined the Hammers from Nottingham Forest in the summer of 2015 for around £7 million (BBC Sport).
The 32-year-old has been a great servant for West Ham over the past seven years, but there have been signs recently that his career is on a downward curve.
Antonio has definitely lost his explosive pace, and who knows, that may well be because he is protecting his hamstrings at this stage of his career.
Last night, the experienced forward really was miles off the pace for the Hammers.
It was the kind of performance that will have worried Moyes and the West Ham fans.
Antonio’s touch looked rusty, his composure in front of goal just wasn’t there and he was beaten regularly down the flanks by the Cambridge defenders in foot races.
The Jamaica international is no longer West Ham’s number one striker. Gianluca Scamacca has nailed down that spot as his own.
And perhaps that has put Micky’s nose out of joint. One thing is clear and that is that Antonio has to do so much more than he did last night. He has to show Moyes that he still has the hunger needed to push Scamacca for his starting spot.
Antonio’s performance for West Ham vs Cambridge left a lot to be desired. And the onus is very much on him now to prove everyone wrong again.
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