West Ham United co-owner David Sullivan has dropped a not so subtle hint to Slaven Bilic about where Michail Antonio should play.
West Ham’s Manuel Lanzini and Dimitri Payet are among a host of first team stars on the injury list
The Hammers are suffering a glut of injuries to key players already this season with the likes of Dimitri Payet, Manuel Lanzini, Andre Ayew, Aaron Cresswell, Andy Carroll and Sofiane Feghouli all out.
Slaven Bilic has endured a tough time in the transfer market with a summer-long hunt for a marquee striker who can get 20 plus goals seemingly ending with the club paying over the odds for Ayew at £20.5 million.
West Ham’s Michail Antonio looks dejected
Antonio-NO right back Slaven
In the background West Ham fans have been growing increasingly frustrated with Bilic for the first time due to his insistence on playing Michail Antonio at right back.
The powerful winger scored and assisted 15 goals last season after breaking into the Hammers side in December.
Not only is Antonio reluctant to play there, he has also been making a mistake per game when he is used in that position, none more costly than his error which gifted Chelsea the lead in the season opening defeat at Stamford Bridge.
Antonio celebrates the first ever Premier League goal at the Olympic Stadium
Hammers favourite puts troubles behind him with milestone goal
The former Nottingham Forest man put all that behind him, though, when he was restored to his natural position on the wing and scored the vital goal in a 1-0 win over Bournemouth on Sunday – West Ham’s first Premier League game at their new 60,000 seater home.
Antonio told Four Four Two in the summer that he wants to become the best winger in the Premier League.
But Bilic has since insisted he will continue to use Antonio at right back when players return from injury.
West Ham co-owner David Sullivan
‘It was great to see him playing in a more attacking position’
And now co-owner David Sullivan has dropped a not-so-subtle hint on the club’s official website about where his manager should play Antonio.
“I want to pay special tribute to Michail Antonio, it was great to see him playing in a more attacking position and he stole all the headlines with his late winner,” Sullivan said on whufc.com.
“He was among the highest scorers of headed goals in any top league in Europe last season and once again showed his quality with another superb effort.
“He must be the best winger in the Premier League in the air and I was so pleased that he got on the scoresheet once again.”
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic
Should Sullivan be commenting on delicate team selection issues?
Sullivan makes some salient points which all West Ham fans will undoubtedly agree with.
But his comments also raise the question as to whether the co-owner should be speaking about team selection so openly, especially on such a delicate subject with the manager insisting he will still be used at right back.
Sullivan is no stranger to make his opinions heard, though, and having been around for decades there is nothing to suggest he is about to change his ways anytime soon.
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