Ex-West Ham star Michail Antonio training with EFL Championship club | OneFootball

Former West Ham forward Michail Antonio is currently training with Watford as he looks to seal a return to English football

Former West Ham star Michail Antonio has been revealed to be training with Watford in an effort to impress Alessio Dionisi and return to English football after leaving the London Stadium last summer.

The veteran forward is out of contract and searching for a new club once again following his exit from Qatari outfit Al-Sailiya in June, and is bidding for a deal with the Hornets ahead of the 2026/27 Championship campaign.

Antonio last graced the Championship with Nottingham Forest, where his haul of 19 goals and 13 assists from just 54 appearances at the City Ground between would earn a shot at the Premier League in 2015.

Watford, who finished the previous season in 16th place, commence the upcoming term at home to Tonda Eckert's Southampton in what will represent Dionisi's second match in charge after his appointment over the summer.

Michail Antonio training with Watford in new transfer update

This development comes courtesy of a report from the Watford Observer, which has revealed that Antonio is currently training with Watford and could put pen-to-paper on a deal at Vicarage Road if he sufficiently impressed the club's key decision-makers.

The 36-year-old has even been pictured going through his paces in training alongside Kwadwo Baah and Iker Bravo, with his presence in Herfordshire arriving after sporting director Luke Dowling disclosed that a new striker is on the agenda to support Mamadou Doumbia and Luca Kjerrumgaard.

Antonio, of course, would come without haggling over a transfer fee owing to his status on the market as a free agent, having brought a short stint in the Middle East with Al-Sailiya to an end earlier this summer.

Exactly how long the 24-cap Jamaican international's stint training under Dionisi at Watford only remains to be seen, but he will be fighting tooth and nail to leave his mark and seal a return to the second-tier after more than 10 years away.

What Michail Antonio has been up to after leaving West Ham

Antonio has barely kicked a ball in anger since breaking his leg in a near-fatal car crash back in December 2024, which ultimately curtailed his decade-long stay in East London.

The striker, who made more than 300 appearances for the Hammers throughout his time with the club, would never pull on claret-and-blue colours again, and rejected what he felt was a derisory £5,000-a-week contract from then-chairman Karren Brady to extend his tenure with the under-21s.

Antonio has been able to return to professional football alongside undertaking punditry work and came back to action by signing for Al-Sailiya in March, although he would only feature on four goalless occasions before leaving the Qatar Stars League side.

Now aged 36, Antonio likely doesn't have too long left in the game but still evidently believes that he can make an impact at Championship level, an opportunity that Watford can provide if they share that feeling.

Following discussions with Brentford and Leicester City, Antonio was in talks over a move to Charlton Athletic before heading to Qatar, although that deal failed to materialise.

Ex-West Ham star Michail Antonio would bring strong pedigree to Watford

Despite having played so little football in the last 18 months, Antonio brings behind him an esteemed body of work at the highest level and that's clearly why EFL clubs have run the rule over the possibility of taking a punt on his services in recent times.

The forward proved a major hit at West Ham, scoring close to 100 goals and playing an instrumental role in the club's historic 2022/23 UEFA Conference League triumph by finding the back of the net seven times.

Antonio hit double-digits for league goals in three successive seasons between 2019 and 2022, and though those years may be firmly behind him, he could still have much to offer in the second-tier.

Even at Championship level, Antonio was an impressive performer with Sheffield Wednesday before truly lighting up the division at Nottingham Forest, and he would be an astute signing for Watford if they could return him to anywhere near the goalscoring standards that were set all those years ago in the East Midlands - let alone at West Ham.

Whether that's actually possible is anybody's guess, of course. It's something of a miracle that Antonio has been able to make a full recovery considering the severity of his car crash, but you've got to admire his ambition and willingness to prolong his playing days for as long as possible as he looks to retain fitness and encourage the Hornets to roll the dice.