‘No formal decision' on Michail Antonio future as West Ham announce retained list
Antonio's current contract is due to expire on June 30 and the Jamaica international is still sidelined after being involved in a car crash in December, which left him with a broken femur.
It was announced on Monday that Antonio will appear in the Premier League's retained list as a 'free transfer', but West Ham's current priority is to help him on the road to recovery.
West Ham United has issued the Club's Retained List of players at the end of the 2024/25 season.
Read the full statement below ⬇️
— West Ham United (@WestHam) June 9, 2025
'Given Michail Antonio's unique situation, following his serious road traffic accident in December 2024, there will be no formal decision and announcement on his future until such time that it is considered right and appropriate,' a West Ham club statement read.
'However, as his current contract is also due to expire on 30 June, for the purposes of the Premier League Retained List procedure at the end of the 2024-25 season, Michail will be listed as a free transfer.
'As a long-serving, highly-respected player, and a much-loved member of the West Ham family, the club's absolute priority at this time is to support Michail personally in his journey to resume playing at the highest level.'
It had already been announced that Lukasz Fabianski, Vladimir Coufal, Aaron Cresswell and Danny Ings would depart at the end of their contracts this month.
Ex-West Ham captain Kurt Zouma, currently on-loan to Al-Orobah of the Saudi Pro League, will also leave the club on June 30.
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BBC News
34 minutes ago
- BBC News
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He's done a fantastic job in the years that I've worked with him at Brentford."Managing Brentford though feels a very different proposition to managing overseeing a club with consistently one of the lowest budgets in the division - thus players on smaller salaries - to a club full of high-paid, high-profile described Tottenham's decision to part ways with Postecoglou as "madness", and added: "That is how things work at the club that Frank is walking into."He also also believes Spurs are taking a gamble on a manager who has no experience in the Champions League."Thomas Frank has done a brilliant job at Brentford, but this is a whole different kettle of fish," said Sutton."Because of the expectation at Tottenham, Frank won't get time to get his feet under the table. He will be under pressure from the off."Postecoglou has just won them their first major European trophy for 41 years and has gone. 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High-possession football, more counter-attacks, more percentage football - Frank has played them all, leading to many seeing him as one of the game's more adaptive attacking flair and bravery, to at times being more pragmatic, what will Spurs look like under Frank?"It's a surprisingly difficult question to answer because he's a really flexible manager," said football tactics writer Alex Keble."He will automatically adapt his tactics to whoever the opposition is, a bit like Unai Emery at Aston Villa."In many ways he's the opposite of Ange Postecoglou, who is famously wedded to one idea."There's a statistic - what Opta call 10+ - referring to the number of passes and sequences [in one move]. In 2023-24 Brentford registered 245. In 2024-25 that figure was 325. "That tells you as time has gone on, Frank has wanted to play a more possession-based game. There's certainly plenty of counter-attacks, fast transitions and plenty of highly choreographed long balls forward - direct football."Who are the Tottenham players who could benefit from the arrival of Frank, a manager who pays great attention to stats?"You can certainly imagine Dominic Solanke linking with Wilson Odobert in a way Wissa and Mbeumo interact," added Keble. "Defensively, Tottenham are least like Brentford. Would Frank look at the Spurs squad and think 'I can't play Brentford football here?'"Spurs fans struggled to buy into the brand of football under recent managers Jose Mourinho and Conte. 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Frank, praised for his methodical detail, has likened managing in the Premier League to being a head chef in a high-end restaurant."The chef needs to be able to cook the food himself," said Frank."He's got 20 other chefs doing all these things for him so he's leading all these many chefs through his vision, his recipes and they are maximising every little detail. "But he knows how the perfect outcome should be."His profile has rocketed since he arrived in England in 2016, being appointed Brentford's assistant head coach, external under Dean not playing professionally he has ended up in the Premier League after starting his coaching journey with the under-8s of his hometown club Frederiksvaerk. 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"Far from seeing it as a weakness, I saw that as a strength."I knew he'd be liked as a person and could evolve as a coach, but to work in the Premier League without having the experience or being a big name was a huge test."But the thing about Thomas was he was always so curious about football - he lived for the game. I saw a different coach at the end of my three years with him."After Frank Lampard left his role as Chelsea boss in 2023, Frank invited the former England midfielder to watch Brentford train."When you see someone like Thomas and how diligent he is and how well he speaks, you understand he has put thousands of hours into viewing, observing, working out his way, his approach to people," Lampard, now boss at Coventry City, told the Football Daily Radio London commentator Phil Parry added: "Thomas Frank as a manager is exceptionally gifted, as a person he's great - he's an exceptional coach and leader."He also accepts he is the head of something that is very important. 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Daily Mirror
37 minutes ago
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South Wales Guardian
44 minutes ago
- South Wales Guardian
Wales suffer dramatic World Cup qualifying defeat to Belgium after fightback
Kevin De Bruyne was the Belgium match-winner two minutes from time to deny Wales a precious point in Brussels. Belgium had seized complete control inside 27 minutes as Romelu Lukaku, with a controversial penalty, Youri Tielemans and Jeremy Doku silenced the loud 4,500-strong following from Wales. But Harry Wilson gave Wales hope from the spot on the stroke of half-time, and cool finishes from Sorba Thomas and Brennan Johnson turned the tie on its head. Kevin. 🇧🇪👑#FIFAWorldCup — FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) June 9, 2025 Almost every goal had a laborious VAR check and a late Lukaku effort was chalked off – resulting in both Wales manager Craig Bellamy and his Belgium counterpart Rudi Garcia being booked – but there was no saving the visitors as De Bruyne volleyed home at the far post. Wales had lost top spot in Group J before kick-off courtesy of North Macedonia's win in Kazakhstan. Bellamy's unbeaten record would also disappear – exactly a year to the day since Wales had lost for the last time – in his 10th game in charge. It was a duel between familiar foes with this being their 11th meeting in 13 years. Neco Williams was absent after being taken off on a stretcher in Friday's victory over Liechtenstein, and Bellamy made three changes with Chris Mepham, David Brooks and Jordan James recalled. Brennan Johnson 💫 — Wales 🏴 (@Cymru) June 9, 2025 Aston Villa midfielder Tielemans led a Belgian team who featured several faces well known to Premier League fans. Bellamy had promised a bold approach and Thomas was positive in the first minute to deliver a cross into the six-yard box that no-one in the middle could get on the end of. But Wales crumbled in the space of 12 minutes after Johnson was adjudged to have handled De Bruyne's powerful shot. It appeared a harsh decision as Johnson's arm was close to his body, but Lukaku rolled the penalty home with ease. Belgium worked an overload down the right four minutes later and Maxim De Cuyper found Tielemans, who stroked the ball high past Karl Darlow in the Wales goal. He can. ⚽️#FIFAWorldCup — FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) June 9, 2025 Matz Sels instantly denied David Brooks one-on-one at the other end, and the Nottingham Forest goalkeeper shovelled aside Ben Davies' follow-up effort. But Belgium menaced with every attack and Doku broke clear to set up De Bruyne, who was inches away from adding another. Doku's footwork had dazzled and Wales had no answer when the Manchester City winger cut inside Davies. Darlow got a hand to the low shot, but could not prevent it from crossing the line. De Cuyper and Leandro Trossard were booked for cynical fouls on Johnson as Wales revived, and the visitors were given hope in first-half stoppage time. Sels made contact with Mepham's head as he attempted to fist away a Thomas corner and Wilson claimed his 14th international goal from the penalty spot. ⏰ FT | 🇧🇪 4-3 🏴 An enthralling encounter comes to an end in Brussels. 💻 — Wales 🏴 (@Cymru) June 9, 2025 Dodi Lukebakio missed a sitter within seconds of his half-time arrival and Belgium were punished when Wilson spotted Thomas unmarked on the left. The new Stoke signing kept his composure to fire under Sels for his first Wales goal. Wales wanted more and substitute Mark Harris sent a golden chance wide. Johnson nodded the leveller after Thomas had headed Wilson's cross back across goal, but De Bruyne had the final word to break Welsh hearts.
