According to The Sun, Nottingham Forest plan to make a “sensational” bid for West Ham attacker Michail Antonio this summer.
According to the newspaper’s website [25 June], the 34-year-old is expected to leave the club as part of Julen Lopetegui’s clearout, with Forest hoping to bring the forward back to The City Ground.
It is understood that two American teams, as well as RB Leipzig, have entered the transfer sweepstakes, with Fulham also “watching with interest” this summer.
Could Michail Antonio leave West Ham United in the summer?
Antonio has acquired legendary status after nine years at the club, joining from Forest in the summer of 2015 and quickly becoming a fan favourite at the London Stadium.
Since then, the 34-year-old has scored 82 goals in 308 games, surpassing Paolo Di Canio as the club’s all-time Premier League goalscorer.
Despite his goal-scoring ability, he has been plagued by injuries in recent seasons, missing multiple matches over the last two campaigns, leaving the Hammers with little choices up front.
One of David Moyes’ answers was to deputise Jarrod Bowen at centre-forward, which appeared to work when he scored 20 goals and assisted 10 times in all competitions, but it cannot be a long-term solution.
It appears Lopetegui agrees, as West Ham have already been connected with many striker alternatives in the summer transfer market, including AS Roma’s Tammy Abraham and Sevilla’s Youssef En-Nesyri.
According to GiveMeSport, the club want to acquire a new forward before pre-season begins next month [31 July], and Antonio could have left by then if the links back to The City Ground are correct.
With nearly 50 appearances for Forest during his brief season-long spell there in 2014/15, he is sure to be welcomed back as the team looks to escape relegation next season.
