CARLTON COLE has backed Michail Antonio to keep his spot in West Ham’s team despite the club being poised to sign a striker this summer.
David Moyes’ high flying Hammers are yet to replace record signing Sebastien Haller, who left for Ajax in January 2021.
Antonio is into double figures for both goals and assists this seasonCredit: REX FEATURESWest Ham splashed the cash on Haller under Manuel Pellegrini but the signing didn’t work out and the striker was sold to Ajax, where he has been a raving successCredit: AFPHammers hero Cole has backed Antonio to be West Ham’s No1 striker despite a busy summer window predictedCredit: REUTERS
Antonio, 32, has filled in effectively, reaching double figures in both goals and assists this term.
But the Jamaican international has also shown signs of fatigue as a result of West Ham’s busy fixture schedule.
And if West Ham are going to play in Europe again next season, they’ll need another forward or two in the door to cope with the demands of fighting on four fronts.
Hammers hero Cole believes Antonio will still be West Ham’s main man next season, regardless of whether a striker comes through the doors at the London Stadium.
Antonio became Prem star after a church U-turn that stopped him playing
The likes of Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Southampton’s on-loan star Armando Broja have been linked with moves.
But Cole, 38, has even gone as far as to cast doubt over whether top strikers will be willing to sit on the bench behind West Ham’s all-time Premier League top scorer.
Speaking to SunSport on West Ham’s complicated striker search ahead of a Masters Football event in association with Bookmakers.com, Cole said: “When you bring someone into the club in the January window, they’re expected to play straight away…
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“You’ve got to get the right striker. And what striker that’s worth their weight in gold is going to want to come in and sit on the bench?
“You’d want a physical striker up front and I think there are players out there with those attributes that can occupy two or three defenders.
“They need to be able to hold the ball up, maybe turn – might not be as quick as him (Antonio).
“But that’s the trade off you’re going to get. So as I said, your scouting has to go for that sort of player.
“You can’t just bring a player in that doesn’t have these attributes, so you have to go and get the closest one to that.
“And if we do go and get that one, is he willing to sit on the bench? Is he going to be better than Antonio? probably not.”
Cole has also backed West Ham’s slow but steady approach in their search for their next No9.
The former England international says the wrong man could upset the apple-cart.
Cole continued: “We can’t just sign any striker to get a body in.
Antonio is West Ham’s all-time top scorer in the Prem with 54 goalsCredit: PAAntonio’s awkward style of play makes him hard to defend againstCredit: NEWS GROUPAntonio has ten goals and ten assists across all competitions this season
“This takes time to get the right man in and money as well – you can’t just waste money on the wrong striker just because we need an extra player.
“People always forget as well. When you bring a new player into the fold, his attitude has to be right, he’s got to be ready to fight for the team and pass Moyes’ character test.
“It takes a lot of scouting to do that. We’ve just changed our chief scout, so he has to look at the dynamics and the chemistry of our team first and bring in the right character.
“We’re doing really well, but if you bring just one bad apple into the club, the team’s morale goes downwards.”
West Ham’s season has a what if feeling to it. What if West Ham signed a striker? What if West Ham added more depth to their squad?
But Cole is keen to look at the positives and take courage from the progress the squad has made.
Cole continued: “The season’s going well. Look where we were two years ago (fighting relegation).
“Is it not going well? People will be saying to us ‘you’re falling off a little bit.’
“Yes, that happens. We came out of the FA Cup, we came out of the League Cup but we are still in the top half of the table and in Europe. It’s going fantastic. Swimmingly I should say.”
