Antonio gives honest verdict on Bowen stepping in for him as West Ham’s No.9
It’s been a long road back for Michail Antonio this season, but the West Ham star had no doubts about team-mate Jarrod Bowen’s ability to step up in the number nine role in his absence.
Antonio joined the Hammers as a winger during Slaven Bilic’s time in charge but has grown into a starting striker in East London. Despite the club recruiting plenty of big-name and big-money strikers - from Simone Zaza to Javier Hernandez and Sebastien Haller to Gianluca Scamacca - Antonio has held his own and became the Hammers’ all-time top scorer in the Premier League.
The 33-year-old has also found the net nine times in Europe over the last two seasons, helping David Moyes’ side win their first silverware in a generation in the form of last year’s Europa Conference League. This season, though, injuries to the number nine have forced Moyes to play Bowen through the middle - a role in which the England international has thrived.
After returning from injury in February, Antonio has made cameos from the bench and could have a part to play as West Ham look to overturn a first-leg deficit against Freiburg in the Europa League on Thursday. And, speaking exclusively to Mirror Football at the launch of a campaign with The FA and England Football celebrating grassroots football volunteers, he explained why he never had any doubts about his team-mate’s quality.
“To be fair, Jarrod's always been quite a strong guy,” Antonio says. "He always comes in anyway and plays a bit everywhere. He said he's played up front before, so he definitely believes in his ability and knows he can play across the line.
Man Utd's January transfer window winners and losers as 'new Scholes' makes exit
“And we all know how well Jarrod can score goals, so he gets an opportunity and he takes it. He's just a quality player and I'm not surprised he's doing well up front.”
Antonio’s own absence was prolonged by an issue in training which he says was “just wild, really”. He’d picked up a knee injury during the October international break but had returned to training in early January when a slip set his recovery back another few weeks, but he is convinced “Everything happens for a reason” and he wasn’t “meant” to be back.
Will West Ham beat Freiburg on Thursday? Have your say in the comments section
Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio have both been among the goals for West Ham in recent years (Getty Images)The absence was Antonio’s first lengthy spell on the sidelines since the start of the 2019-20 season when he missed 16 games. Despite being into his 30s, though, he hasn’t noticed any changes when it comes to his ability to rebound, explaining “As long as you keep looking after your body, your body will look after you”.
He has started just once since returning to full fitness, playing more than an hour against Nottingham Forest in the league. A late substitute appearance in Germany last week was followed by a longer and more impactful one at home to Burnley on Sunday, with West Ham coming back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 after his introduction, and he’s relishing the competition for places ahead of another big European night.
“One thing with football and quality teams is you need to have a mixture and you need to have people be able to play where, when one player's not playing another player can come in and do the job,” he says. “That's how teams do well in the Premier League.
“We've been in Europe for three years now and are doing well in Europe, so we definitely need the bodies. That's why you see with Chelsea, Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool, who have always been in and around the Champions League spots, always doing it, you can see how many bodies they have and the quality they have on their bench.”
Bowen is West Ham's top scorer this term (Getty Images)Antonio had two goals and two assists to his name this season before the Burnley game, and looked to have made it three assists when his chest pass was turned home by Danny Ings. That goal was eventually chalked off for a tight offside, but Ings would later find the net to earn a point, and team-mate Vladimir Coufal was full of praise for both frontmen going into Thursday’s European test.
“I’m so happy for both Danny and Michail,” . “Danny is a born striker because he’s always in the right place, and his finishing is amazing. He could’ve scored three goals in the short time he was on the pitch, and together he and Mick made the difference.
“Mick fought for every ball, he was running behind, and it was a pleasure to see. He’s one of the best strikers in the league in terms of speed and strength, and it’s great for him to return to form now with such a busy schedule ahead.”
Arsenal's transfer window winners and losers as late arrival softens Mudryk blow
Whether he’s back in the starting line-up or needed from the bench, Antonio will want to prove he’s - in his own words - “raring to go” for his first European outing at the London Stadium since September. Nearly two years have passed since West Ham failed to win a European game in front of their own fans, and they’ll need to call on all their firepower to keep that run going.
and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
