Antonio Prefers England to Reggae Boyz
West Ham striker waits for international call-up
Michail Antonio, a London-born striker, has turned down the advances to make his international debut for Jamaica.
And the former non-league hotshot is hoping to follow in the footsteps of other players in the English Premiership and represent his country of birth.
The West Ham forward, who has bagged six goals in 17 games since his £7m capture from Championship club Nottingham Forest last September, has not been included in today’s England squad for friendlies against Germany and the Netherlands. Wandsworth-born Antonio claimed: “Jamaica called, but if I keep doing what I’m doing then hopefully I can get an England call-up.
“You can see it with Dele Alli (Tottenham), he’s come from League One and already he’s in the England squad.
“And you can see it with Jamie Vardy, so hopefully I’ll get a call-up as well.”
The 25-year-old kicked off his career at London’s non-league side Tooting & Mitcham United, having come through the youth ranks after five years.
He was so prolific in his first senior season, notching 33 goals in 45 appearances during the 2007-2008 campaign that Reading swooped for him.
However, four seasons at Reading resulted in just one strike from 28 games with endless loans – including a brief spell back at Tooting & Mitcham – before Sheffield Wednesday signed him following a successful emergency loan in 2012.
Despite being a hit at Wednesday, an injury against Cardiff in March 2013 left him sidelined for the rest of the season.
Yet Nottingham Forest paid £1.5m for him during the close season in August 2014, grabbing 16 goals during his half a century of matches.
Forest made a big profit on the zippy winger, selling their Player of the Sea to West Ham last September and he rewarded the faith in him by hitting what proved to be the winner as a substitute at Manchester City in the Premiership.
Check out this feature on Michail below:
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