Michail Antonio pulled no punches when aiming the blame for West Ham United’s relegation squarely at Graham Potter’s door.
The club’s all-time highest Premier League goalscorer was one of a handful of long-serving veterans booted out the door last summer.
“I feel like [Graham Potter] was just trying to get rid of the old regime,” Michail Antonio told talkSPORT shortly before West Ham United’s relegation was confirmed.
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“He got rid of a lot of the senior players like me, Aaron Cresswell, Vladimir Coufal, Edson Alvarez; players who had more control of the changing rooms. More of the leaders of the group were moved on.
“I feel like he didn’t want anyone with any influence in the changing room to be there, so anyone he had the opportunity to get rid of, he did.”
There is one name Antonio is missing from that list; Emerson Palmieri. A left-back who, one year after Potter brutally ousted the Brazil-born Italy international from the first-team picture and forced him to train alone at Rush Green, could be on his way to Italian powerhouses Juventus.
Juventus want ex-West Ham United left-back Emerson Palmieri
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Juve coach Luciano Spalletti hopes to reunite with Emerson, having worked with the 31-year-old at Roma.
Emerson described his move to Marseille as a ‘no-brainer’ when Roberto de Zerbi, now at Tottenham Hotspur, rescued him from his East London purgatory last year. The FA Cup, Champions League, Europa League and Conference League winner played 37 matches for the French giants.
After Marseille fell short in their aims of Champions League qualification, he could leave for a club who suffered a similar fate across the Alps.
Juventus somehow contrived to finish sixth in Serie A following a run of one win in their final five matches, though it has since been confirmed that the highly-experienced Spalletti will be staying on at the Allianz Stadium.
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Unsurprisingly, given how Emerson’s departure was handled by Potter and co, Antonio is not the only one to openly question Nuno Espirito Santo’s predecessor.
“Two weeks [before I joined Marseille], I had already given De Zerbi the ‘OK’,” Emerson told Calciomercato in October. “The clubs needed to reach an agreement. I was a little nervous because I was afraid they wouldn’t reach an agreement.
“Before the transfer, I spent 50 days training alone. West Ham wouldn’t lower their demands, but I kept calm because I knew Marseille were there.”
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