West Ham are confident of agreeing a new deal with Michail Antonio and plan to reward the forward’s excellent late-season form with a pay rise.
While Antonio has a year left on his deal, West Ham are relaxed about the situation as they have an option to trigger a two-year extension. However, the 30-year-old is in line for improved terms after helping the east London club to win their fight to stay in the Premier League, scoring eight goals in his last nine games to help lift David Moyes’s side to safety.
Antonio earns around £70,000 a week, which puts him below West Ham’s highest-paid players. Felipe Anderson, Jack Wilshere, Andriy Yarmolenko and Sebastien Haller are on deals worth in the region of £100,000 a week. It is understood Anderson, who is up for sale this summer, earns around £115,000 a week. The Brazilian winger has lost his place under Moyes, who is looking to raise his transfer budget by selling players who have fallen out of favour.
Antonio does not fall into that category and although West Ham are not in a rush to conclude negotiations, it is expected that talks will go smoothly. While Antonio knows his next deal is an important one because of his age, he does not want to leave the London Stadium.
The versatile forward, who scored 10 goals in total last season, has been a popular figure since joining West Ham for £7m from Nottingham Forest in 2015.
West Ham, who are rivalling Crystal Palace for the Queens Park Rangers forward Eberechi Eze, remain adamant Declan Rice will not be sold to Chelsea this summer. While they are likely to have to make sales before bringing in new signings, they are determined not to raise funds by selling Rice.
One player on his way out is Albian Ajeti, who is set to join Celtic after turning down the chance to sign for Brentford. The Swiss striker, who joined West Ham for £8m from Basel last summer, will join the Scottish champions for £4.5m.
The Guardian Sport
