Michail Antonio

Michail Gregory Antonio (born 28 March 1990) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for club West Ham United.

Born in England, he represents the Jamaica national team.

Antonio began his career at non-League club Tooting & Mitcham United before signing with Reading of the Championship in 2008.

The club sent him on subsequent loan spells to Cheltenham Town, back to Tooting & Mitcham, Southampton and Colchester United, as he struggled to find a place in Reading's first team throughout his four-year stay at the Madejski.

After just a handful of first-team appearances for Tooting & Mitcham United, Antonio signed for Championship club Reading on 28 October 2008 for an undisclosed fee, signing a deal until 2010.

He rejoined Tooting on a month-long loan spell on 9 January 2009, with the loan extended for a further month on 11 February but he returned to Reading less than a week later on 17 February after being recalled by the club.

Southampton signed Antonio on loan for one month on 5 October 2009, making his debut on 9 October in a 3–1 away win at Southend United.

He scored his first goal for Southampton in the FA Cup victory over Bristol Rovers on 6 November.

The loan was subsequently extended until the end of the season.

He scored in the first leg of the Football League Trophy area final against Milton Keynes Dons, with the match finishing 1–0.

He also scored in his next appearance, a 2–1 victory over Ipswich Town in the FA Cup.

Antonio's loan deal finished at the end of the 2009–10 season, but both manager Alan Pardew and Antonio himself expressed a desire for the winger to remain at Southampton.

Following his loan spell with Southampton in the summer of 2010, Antonio signed a fresh deal to keep him at Reading until 2013.

He featured more regularly in the squad during the 2010–11 season, scoring one goal, against Burnley, in 24 appearances in all competitions.

After being recalled from Tooting, Antonio was subsequently loaned out to League One club Cheltenham Town on a month's loan, commencing on 19 February.

He made his Football League debut in a 2–0 defeat to Leeds United on 21 February, being substituted on 28 minutes after suffering from an ankle injury.

After spending some time out injured, Antonio would go on to make eight further appearances until the end of the season with Cheltenham.

He scored again in the 4–1 2010 Football League Trophy Final win over Carlisle United at Wembley Stadium on 28 March 2010, which was his 20th birthday, bringing Antonio his first silverware.

Colchester United was the next destination for Antonio, where he signed on a one-month loan on 15 August 2011.

He made his debut for the club the following day in a 2–0 home defeat to Charlton Athletic.

He scored his first goal for the club to put the U's 2–1 ahead as they eventually lost in a 3–2 defeat to Huddersfield Town on 20 August.

His loan spell with the club was extended for another month in September and then for a further month in October.

In total, Antonio scored four goals in 15 league outings for Colchester.

A final loan spell with Sheffield Wednesday resulted in a permanent move in 2012, where he went on to make 64 appearances and score 12 goals.

On 21 February 2012, Sheffield Wednesday signed Antonio on an emergency loan deal until the end of the season.

His debut for the Owls came in a 1–0 victory over local rivals, Sheffield United on 26 February.

In his next appearance, a 4–1 win against Bury, he scored two and set up another for forward Ryan Lowe.

In the following match, against Bournemouth, Antonio set up the opener and scored Wednesday's third in the opening ten minutes.

On 21 April 2012, against Carlisle United at Hillsborough, he scored a 95th-minute winner to beat them and put Sheffield Wednesday only one point behind local rivals United, who were in second place.

He helped the Owls to promotion on the final day of the season by scoring the first in a 2–0 victory over already relegated Wycombe Wanderers, which led Wednesday to finish above Steel City rivals Sheffield United.

Antonio signed on a permanent basis for Sheffield Wednesday on 6 August 2012 on a four-year deal after a third and final bid for the player was accepted by Reading.

In his first season with the club, Antonio had been leading the scoring charts with nine goals, but an injury suffered in a 2–0 defeat by Cardiff City on 16 March 2013 ruled him out for the rest of the season.

Nottingham Forest signed him from Wednesday in 2014, where his 16 goals in 50 appearances attracted attention from West Ham United of the Premier League, who signed him in 2015, where he was deployed in a number of positions including right back, right midfielder and as a winger before eventually establishing himself as the club's main striker.

On 23 August 2021, he became West Ham United's all-time top scorer in the Premier League.

Antonio was born in Wandsworth, Greater London.

He began playing football as a youth at Tooting & Mitcham United Juniors at the age of 12 and remained there for six seasons.

He was scouted and invited for a trial by Tottenham Hotspur at the age of 14, though, his mother rejected the opportunity on his behalf and he remained with Tooting and Mitcham; he would also later unsuccessfully trial with both Brentford and Queens Park Rangers as a teenager.

The Juniors' team was independent from Tooting & Mitcham United, whom he later signed for at the age of 17 years.

He made his debut for the club in an away match against Wealdstone at the age of 18, scoring once in a 3–0 victory.

On 6 August 2014, Antonio signed a three-year contract with Nottingham Forest for a transfer fee in the region of £1.5 million.