Michail Antonio feels he could have helped West Ham United survive relegation | OneFootball

Michail Antonio feels he could have helped West Ham United survive the drop.

The English forward left West Ham in June 2025 after his contract expired, with former manager Graham Potter opting not to renew it.

Antonio was involved in a road traffic accident in December 2024, which nearly cost him his life.

Potter replaced Julen Lopetegui as the Hammers manager in January 2025, and he did not feel Antonio was needed.

“I was angry because I didn’t like how they dealt with it,” Antonio wrote about his contract situation in his book Humans Not Robots.

“I’m straightforward. Don’t hide anything from me. And he (Potter) kept on saying to me: ‘We’re going to see what’s going on with you and your contract, I’m going to leave it with the owner, you just need to speak to the owner’.

“Then I’ll speak to the owner, and he’ll be like: ‘Graham doesn’t want you.’ I kept going like a yo-yo. At the beginning, (David) Sullivan said he was going to give me a contract. I was going to have another year, build myself back instead of having to go out on trial.”

Antonino was allowed to continue his rehabilitation in August 2025, and he began training with the West Ham under-21s, later playing for them against Nottingham Forest under-21s later that month.

He left to train with Leicester City in December 2025, and they considered offering him a short-term contract before muscle injuries.

Brentford also offered Antonio a contract after training with them, but the move fell through due to a torn calf. He signed a two-month contract for Qatar Stars League club Al-Sailiya in March 2026.

He is currently a free agent and considering retirement, but a return to West Ham does not appear to be on the cards.

The Hammers are in the Championship, and manager Nuno Espirito Santo will aim to achieve instant promotion to the Premier League next season.

It is unknown if Antonio could have helped keep them up, but his leadership and experience could have been useful.

The club now have to make smart decisions in the coming weeks to boost their chances of returning to the top-flight next year.