Michail Antonio receives wowed message from forgotten West Ham man after shock news
Michail Antonio was greeted by floods of emotional messages as the West Ham man returned to the field for the first time since his horrible injury.
The 35-year-old has been sidelined since December after being involved in a serious traffic collision, with doctors worried that the striker may never walk again in the first few days of treatment.
Due to the player’s situation off the pitch, Antonio is technically out of contract at West Ham at the end of the month, but Stefan Borson suggested to Football Insider that a special agreement could be agreed.
Despite all of this, and against all the odds, the striker took to the pitch for the final five minutes of Jamaica’s CONCACAF Gold Cup defeat to Guatemala in the early hours of Tuesday, 17 June.
West Ham fans were stunned to see Antonio’s emotional return, with forgotten man Maxwel Cornet sending a message directly to the player on social media.
Maxwel Cornet sends message after Michail Antonio’s surprise return
Taking to Instagram stories (17 June), Cornet wrote: “Less than 1 year and he is back on the pitch. ‘The Beast’ is not just a nickname, big bro. More to come.”
Cornet spent the 2024/25 season on loan at two separate clubs, Genoa and Southampton, and has made just 37 appearances since his £17.5m move from Burnley in 2022 [BBC Sport].
Graham Potter to make cut-throat decisions at West Ham
Football Insider verdict
Graham Potter has a very difficult decision to make over Antonio’s future this summer, with the Jamaican still the club’s all-time leading goalscorer in the Premier League.
The decision surrounding Cornet’s future should not be so difficult, however, with the new manager needing to wipe the slate clean following an absolutely awful campaign in England.
Konstantinos Mavropanos, Edson Alvarez, and Guido Rodriguez are all seen as deadweight, but after David Sullivan opened his pockets last summer, the same is unlikely to happen.
Football Insider understands, however, that Everton and West Ham could gamble with a deal for Hamza Igamane, adding to Niclas Fullkrug, Mohammed Kudus, and Jarrod Bowen in the final third.
There are concerns over the latter’s future at the London Stadium, especially given his vital impact on the team over the last few seasons, but it remains unlikely that the winger could make a move.
Football Insider also understands that West Ham could strike a deal for Aaron Ramsdale, and these mentioned signings could kickstart Potter’s reign in East London.