Premier League

Pundit View: Ex-England international believes Moyes has discovered striker solution

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Of all the sides battling for survival in the Premier League, few have emerged from the restart in the same manner that West Ham have, collecting ten points from seven matches. Crucially, in the two most recent displays, David Moyes has guided this team to consecutive victories for the first time since August, both of which have come against fellow top-flight strugglers.

Michail Antonio has played an enormous role in getting the Irons to within a point of safety, and the 30-year-old has outscored every player in the league, with his seven strikes since the division restarted in June.

Former England international goalkeeper, Paul Robinson, has been in awe of Antonio and even suggested that he could prove to be a permanent strike solution for West Ham instead of the misfiring Sebastien Haller.

What did he say?

Speaking to Football Insider, the 41 cap England international said: “Haller has been disappointing, and he certainly hasn’t scored the goals or put in the performances that were expected from him.”

“Antonio looks like the answer down the middle. He could be that 15, 20 goal a season striker if that is how David Moyes continues to use him. It depends how David wants to play next year and what kind of transfer budget he will be given,” added Robinson.

Hotting up

Antonio may currently be the Hammers’ top scorer on nine strikes, but it hasn’t always been that way this season. The 30-year-old Englishman made a sluggish start to the campaign, netting just one Premier League goal in his first 13 top-flight matches this term.

At the beginning of the campaign, he wasn’t even a consistent feature in the starting line-up. Antonio appeared from the off on the opening day 5-0 Manchester City drubbing, then was forced to wait until almost December to start again, against Chelsea.

However, since the Premier League’s resumption in June, the 30-year-old Englishman has missed just 12 minutes of action and been a thorn in the side of almost every opponent he has come across. After exploding into life with a goal and assist against Chelsea, Antonio has racked up seven strikes in his last five matches.

Whether Antonio can continue his tremendous momentum is yet to be seen, but Robinson certainly seems convinced he should be starting ahead of Haller in the frontline next season.

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