Michail Antonio

At 34 years old, Michail Antonio has this physical status:

Club career

Antonio was born in Wandsworth, Greater London. He started playing football as a youth with Tooting & Mitcham United Juniors at the age of 12 and continued there for six seasons. He was scouted and invited for a trial by Tottenham Hotspur at the age of 14, but his mother refused to take the stand and Mitcham remained with Tooting and Mitcham as a child; later, he would unsuccessfully trial with both Brentford and Queens Park Rangers as a youth. The Juniors' team was not affiliated with Tooting & Mitcham United, who later signed for him at the age of 17 years. In a 3–0 victory over him, he made his club debut against Wealdstone at the age of 18, scoring once in a home match.

Antonio signed for Championship club Reading on October 28, 2008 for an undisclosed fee, extending his contract until 2010. On 9 January 2009, he returned to Tooting after being recalled by the club less than a week later.

Antonio has signed a new contract with Southampton in the summer of 2010, extending his loan term at Reading until 2013. He played more often in the squad during the 2010–11 season, scoring one goal against Burnley in 24 appearances in all competitions.

Antonio was then loaned out to Cheltenham Town on a month's loan, beginning on February 19th, after being recalled from Tooting.

In a 2–0 loss to Leeds United on February 21, he made his Football League debut in a 2–0 loss. He was forced to leave on 28 minutes after suffering from an ankle injury. Antonio will continue to make eight more appearances with Cheltenham after being out injured for some time.

On October 5, 2009, Southampton signed Antonio on loan for a month, making his debut at Southend United on October 9th in a 3–1 away win. In Southampton's FA Cup victory over Bristol Rovers on 6 November, he scored his first goal for the team. The loan was then extended until the end of the season.

In the first leg of the Football League Trophy area final against Milton Keynes Dons, he scored, with the match ending 1–0. In his next game, he scored in 2–1 victory over Ipswich Town in the FA Cup, beating them 2–1. Antonio scored again in the 4–1 2010 Football League Trophy Final victory over Carlisle United over Antonio's 20th birthday on March 28, 2010, bringing him his first silverware.

Antonio's loan agreement came to an end in the 2009–10 season, but both boss Alan Pardew and Antonio himself expressed a desire for the winger to remain at Southampton.

Colchester United was the next destination for Antonio, where he signed a one-month loan on August 15th. In a 2–0 home loss to Charlton Athletic on the following day, he made his club debut the following day. In a 3–2 loss to Huddersfield Town on 20 August, he scored his first goal for the club, pushing the United States 2–1 ahead. In September, his loan contract with the club was extended for another month and then into a new month in October. Antonio had scored four goals in 15 Colchester outings in total.

Sheffield Wednesday announced on February 21, 2012, on February 21, 2012, on a season-long emergency loan contract. In a 1–0 win over Sheffield United, the Owls' debut came on February 26. Ryan Lowe scored two goals and set up another for forward Ryan Lowe in his next appearance, a 4–1 victory over Bury. Antonio set up the opener and scored in the first ten minutes against Bournemouth. He scored a 95th-minute winner to defeat them at Hillsborough on April 21, 2012, putting Sheffield Wednesday only one point behind local rivals United, who were in second place. He assisted the Owls in promotion on the final day of the season by scoring the first in a 2–0 win over Wycombe Wanderers, who had already relegated to finish second, which culminated in a 2–0 victory over Sheffield city rivals Sheffield United.

After a third and final bid for the player by Reading, Antonio signed on a permanent basis for Sheffield on a four-year contract. Antonio had been leading the scoring charts with nine goals in his first season with the club, but an injury in a 2–0 loss to Cardiff City on March 16, 2013 suspended him for the remainder of the season.

Antonio signed a three-year deal with Nottingham Forest for a transfer fee in the region of £1.5 million on August 6, 2014.

Antonio's strong form in Forest's first five league matches of the season, in which he played three goals and three assists, culminated in him being selected as a candidate for the Championship's Player of the Month award for August. Antonio was disqualified from the Igor Vetokele award given to Charlton's Igor Vetokele. Antonio appeared in every league match for Forest during his first season with the club, scoring 14 goals, and was named Forest's Player of the Season on May 4, 2015.

Antonio's brace came in a 3–4 loss to Walsall in the first round of the League Cup on August 11, 2015. In a 2–1 win over Rotherham on August 15, the winger opened his tally for the new season.

Forest received their second bid from arch-rivals Derby County after already turning down a £4 million bid from West Bromwich Albion for the transfer of Antonio earlier this summer. Antonio was therefore disqualified from Forest's Championship match against Charlton Athletic on August 19, 2015, with his boss Dougie Freedman citing that the winger was not "in the right mood" to play. However, Antonio has been recalled for Bolton Wanderers' next league match. West Ham United officially started the bidding for Antonio on August 26th, granting Forest £4 million and winger Matt Jarvis a season-long loan.

Antonio signed West Ham United in Premier League for around £7 million on a four-year contract with an option for another two years on September 1, 2015. He made his Premier League debut on September 19th, replacing Victor Moses in the 60th minute of West Ham's 2–1 victory at Manchester City. Antonio scored his first goal for West Ham in a Man of the match victory on December 28th, 2015. Antonio equalized after the team lost 1–0 to Southampton after a free kick hit him and looped over Southampton goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg.

Antonio's only goal in a home win over Sunderland on February 27, was on February 27. He celebrated by lying on his side and spinning in a circle, capping Homer Simpson's character Homer Simpson's anniversary "Last Exit to Springfield." Antonio turned in a Man of the match display, scoring the only goal in a home victory over Tottenham Hotspur. He continued his good work with another goal in a 3–2 victory over Everton three days later as West Ham came from two goals down. Antonio signed a new, four-year deal with West Ham in July 2016.

Antonio began West Ham's first match of the 2016–17 season in the right-back position, giving Chelsea a lead in the early stages of the second half, which was converted by Eden Hazard. He was recalled not long after Sam Byram's departure. Chelsea defeated 2–1 on a 2-0 victory. Antonio returned to his favorite position as a winger in his second match of the season on August 21. In a 1–0 win over Bournemouth, he scored his only goal of the match, after a cross by Gökhan Töre; West Ham's first Premier League match and goal at their new stadium, the London Stadium, was his first goal of the season. Antonio was suspended for the remainder of the season after scoring nine goals for West Ham in April 2017, according to manager Slaven Bili, who was described by him as a "significant injury." Antonio was named Hammer of the Year for his efforts during the 2016-2017 season. Antonio has signed a new, four-year deal, West Ham revealed on May 11, 2017.

West Ham defeated 1–0 on Sunday, making the first away team to win at the stadium for the first time. Antonio scored the first goal by a visiting player at the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on April 27, 2019.

Antonio scored all four goals in West Ham's 4–0 victory over Norwich City on July 11, becoming the first West Ham player to score four goals in a single Premier League game since David Cross against Tottenham in September 1981.

In West Ham's 1–1 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford on Tuesday, Antonio scored his 10th Premier League goal of the season, his highest return in English football's top division. The result also secured West Ham's spot in the Premier League for the following season. Antonio has signed a new, three-year deal with the club, extending his stay to the club until 2023.

Antonio played for West Ham in the 2020-2021 season, alongside Tomá Souek with ten goals.

Antonio scored his 47th Premier League goal for the club on Sunday, defeating Newcastle United 4–2 in West Ham United's first match of the 2021-22 season. Paolo Di Canio, the club's all-time top scorer in the Premier League era, was brought to a level by the goal. In West Ham's 4–1 home victory over Leicester City on August 23, he scored a brace, surpassing Di Canio's record. He was on the substitutes' bench and hoisting a cardboard cut-out of himself above his head, based on actor Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey's musical film Dirty Dancing.

He was named Premier League Player of the Month for August 2021 on September 10th, 2021. Antonio scored West Ham's first goal in a 2–0 victory over Dinamo Zagreb on September 16 in the first game in the 2021–22 UEFA Europa League group stage. It was West Ham's first goal in a big European tournament since 1999.

Antonio agreed to a new two-and-a-half year contract with West Ham United on January 7, 2022, with the option to extend a further year.

International career

Antonio said in March 2016 that he had turned down the opportunity to play for Jamaica internationally and that he had a dream of playing for England.

Antonio was called up for the first time by new England boss Sam Allardyce's first squad on August 28th for a 2018 World Cup qualifier against Slovakia in Slovakia, where he was an unused replacement. Antonio was called up by new England boss Gareth Southgate's squad for the friendly match against Germany on March 22nd and the 2018 World Cup qualifier against Lithuania on March 20.

Antonio was invited by Jamaica in February 2021 to play for them at an international level. He was described as passionate about playing and assisting them in reaching the 2022 World Cup. Antonio was reported to be on the verge of obtaining his Jamaican passport in March 2021. Antonio had announced on March 17 that he would represent Jamaica internationally, ahead of the squad's upcoming international friendly against the United States. Despite this, Antonio was not included in the 19-man squad when it was announced on March 17th. Antonio was still to decide whether or not to switch, according to the BBC. On the same day that he had promised to play for Jamaica, TalkSPORT revealed that he had promised to play for Jamaica.

Antonio was selected in Jamaica's 60-man provisional squad for the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup on June 18-21. Antonio was ruled out of the final 23-man squad for the reason of not having obtained his Jamaican passport in time. Antonio received his passport in August 2021, making him eligible to play for the United States. He was later called up to a 35-man squad for the forthcoming World Cup games against Mexico, Panama, and Costa Rica, but COVID-19 travel restrictions do not allow him to enter either Mexico or Costa Rica. He debuted with Jamaica in a 3–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification loss to Panama on September 5, 2021. His debut lasted 70 minutes. On what was described as a tough and dry pitch, he spent a significant portion of the game isolated with no support from his staff. In his second international appearance, Antonio scored his first goal for Jamaica. Antonio scored the first goal in a World Cup qualifier against El Salvador on November 13th before Alex Roldan equalized for El Salvador as the game finished 1–1.

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