‘West Ham could have reached special agreement with Michail Antonio’
West Ham star Michail Antonio could have reached a “special arrangement” with the club after an update has emerged on his contract situation.
Antonio crashed his car in December, with the broken leg he sustained in the incident ruling him out for the rest of the season.
The Jamaica international has spent the past decade with the Hammers after joining from Nottingham Forest in 2015.
Antonio, who is out of contract on 30 June, has made 323 appearances for West Ham and is the club’s record goal scorer in the Premier League with 68 strikes.
The east London side have revealed there will be no formal announcement on the 35-year-old’s future until the time is appropriate.
Finance expert Stefan Borson exclusively told Football Insider West Ham could agree a short-term deal with Antonio while he continues his recovery from injury.
West Ham are set to save more than £14million after announcing Lukasz Fabianski, Aaron Cresswell, Vladimir Coufal and Danny Ings will leave the London Stadium when their contracts expire on 30 June.
West Ham star could agree short-term deal
Borson revealed West Ham could have reached a “special arrangement” with Antonio regarding his contract situation.
He told Football Insider: “I doubt they’re paying his wages after the end of the contract.
“I guess there may be a special arrangement.
“But this is a situation where I guess in some ways he would seem to have been to blame for the situation, so they’ve already had the financial hit that’s come from not having the player available for six months.
“I don’t think they’re necessarily going to be in a position where they’re particularly minded to continue to pay him.
“They may well continue to offer him rehabilitation services, but then there may well be insurance issues and things like that.
“So, maybe a short-term contract of some sort.
“I suspect that that’s it in terms of paying him unless they can agree a new contract.”
West Ham ready to accept £70m Mohammed Kudus offer
In terms of a potential exit, Football Insider revealed on 31 May West Ham are ready to accept a bid of between £65-70million for Mohammed Kudus this summer.
The Ghana international has an £85million release clause for Premier League clubs, but interested sides will not part with that figure to land the 24-year-old.
It is believed West Ham will be forced to sell players to improve Graham Potter’s transfer budget this summer.
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