It was forward thinking to put Ant in firing line
MICHAIL ANTONIO returns to Nottingham Forest today as a deadly striker – seven years after leaving them as a workaholic winger.
And that transformation from creator on the flanks to prolific marksman down the middle at West Ham never ceases to amaze the manager who engineered it.
Irons boss David Moyes may have taken the decision to switch Antonio up front because of a dire shortage of strikers at the club, but it is one that neither he nor the player has ever regretted.
Following the conversion, the £8million bargain from Forest has struck fear into every top-flight rearguard, combining power and relentless energy with a serious ability to find the net.
He has done that last part an impressive 56 times in 196 Premier League appearances for the Hammers.
Ahead of today’s trip to face Steve Cooper’s newlypromoted Forest, Moyes waxed lyrical over Antonio’s unlikely impact leading the line at the London Stadium.
The Scot, in his second spell at the helm, said: “When I first came here we moved Marko Arnautovic there because we didn’t have a centre-forward or wanted something better than we already had.
“It was the same really with Micky. We were looking for something that we needed to improve and to play in a different sort of way.
“And I have to say he’s been a revelation these last couple of years as our centre-forward. He has played a huge part in our development.”
He confirmed the forward, 32, has recovered from a niggle picked up in last Sunday’s 2-0 home defeat to Manchester City to be in contention to meet his old club at a packed City Ground this afternoon.
Moyes added: “I’m sure Micky is grateful to Nottingham Forest for what they did for his career and he’ll be looking forward to going back.
“He could tell you far more than me about what a good club it is. But, like Leeds coming up two years ago, it’s great to have Forest back in this league.”
The good news for Moyes, who felt Jamaican international Antonio ‘struggled’ towards the end of last season, is he now possesses a viable alternative following the £30.5m capture of Italian Gianluca Scamacca, 23, from Sassuolo.
The Irons boss said: “The first thing is he has a big stature about him. Technically he’s very gifted, receiving the ball into feet and linking things up.
“And his finishing looks good. So we’re hoping he’ll do it.
“But there will be plenty of times they can play together because Micky can play as a winger.”