West Brom have golden opportunity to sign 68-goal striker nearly a decade after failed £5m move in 2015

West Brom have golden opportunity to sign 68-goal striker nearly a decade after failed £5m move in 2015

West Brom could benefit from signing a player of Michail Antonio’s experience to boost their promotion bid

West Brom have aspirations of reaching the Premier League under Ryan Mason as they look to finally end their five-year hiatus from the top-flight.

The Baggies have picked up 14 points from a possible 27 since hiring Mason but currently sit in seventh position and outside the play-offs after a disappointing 3-0 away defeat to Millwall. It was the second time already that the West Midlands side failed to score 57 last year, which is their second lowest in the Championship since 2000, many are beginning to question whether the club has enough fire power up top.

Josh Maja is still finding fitness and confidence after missing large chunks of last term with a calf problem while questions have been asked about new signing Aune Heggebø and whether he’s ready to thrive at this level. But could West Brom use the free agent market to their advantage by securing a signing 10 years in the making?

West Brom nearly signed Michail Antonio in 2015

Michail Antonio enjoyed 10 incredible years at West Ham which saw him make 323 appearances for the Hammers, win the Europa Conference League and become the club’s highest goalscorer of the Premier League era. But he very nearly found himself playing for West Brom just weeks before the deal was completed after a long-running transfer saga.

At the time, Antonio was leading the line for Nottingham Forest in the Championship. He scored 14 and contributed 12 assists in a career best campaign which had seen him help the club evade the threat of relegation by finishing 14th. Forest were desperate to keep him, but West Brom, who were an established Premier League outfit at the time, looked to have the pulling power required to prise him away from the City Ground. However, in a dramatic twist on deadline day West Ham hijacked the deal and showed greater ambition with a £7m offer as opposed to the £5m that West Brom had been willing to pay.

He admitted at the time: “I thought I might be signing for West Brom, there was loads of links, but nothing with West Ham.I didn’t really hear anything until i basically signed the contract, it came out of the blue. They (West Brom) put a bid in and I thought I would end up in Birmingham, but now I’m in London, back home.”

It’s ultimately a decision that West Brom would live to rue. In the 2017/18 season they were relegated to the Championship in 20th position while scoring 31 all season. Antonio, meanwhile would go onto score 67 times in the top-flight while hitting double figures in three consecutive seasons between 2019 and 2022.

Why West Brom should take a gamble on free agent Michail Antonio

Michail Antonio played twice for West Ham’s Under-21s this season but both parties have opted against extending his stay. Antonio missed most of last season after he was seriously injured in a car crash but is now regaining fitness and has been training with Premier League side Brentford.

BBC Sport explains training with Brentford does not necessarily mean the Bees are planning to offer him a contract, but adds that he lives locally and is using the opportunity to stay match fit. Signing Antonio after the injury could present a risk but there’s no doubt that when fully fit the Jamaican international would be an asset to a team with promotion ambitions like West Brom, particularly with the prospect of a first World Cup for the Reggae Boys since 1998 being in the pipeline.

Antonio was starting matches for West Ham as recently as last season, and managed 11 top-flight goals and five assists in the final two full campaigns before his injury. He’s a player with tremendous pace, workrate and the ability to stretch defences. While he also holds the ball up well and would add a different dimension to what the club currently have at their disposal.

“I’ve got something to prove to show that I can come back, I can come back and play well, which I was doing for the last 10 years,” Antonio said back in August, when asked if he still wishes to continue playing. Even before I did the car crash, I was starting for West Ham, so it shows I’ve still got that ability about me and I can do it again.”