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Slaven Bilic says he’s seen a big improvement in £7m West Ham player’s passing recently
Former West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic has praised Michail Antonio for improving the passing side of his game in recent seasons.
The 32-year-old is a handful for any defender with his pace, quality and physicality but he made the transition to playing as an out and out striker, week in, week out, quite late into his career.
But David Moyes’ number nine hasn’t looked back and he is spearheading West Ham’s Europa League charge and fight for Champions League qualification.
From 37 matches across all competitions this season, Antonio has 10 goals and 10 assists to his name.
He’s on track to reach double figures for the number of goals scored in a Premier League campaign for a third consecutive season.
The Croatian recalled when he signed Antonio for the Hammers in 2015 from Nottingham Forest for and spoke about how the Jamaican international has grown as a player since then.
Bilic : “The first few months he needed time to adjust but after that he was playing as a right-back for us and he did very good and was one of the main reasons why we finished high that season.
“Now he’s playing upfront, he’s the type of player with his strength, pace, determination, directness and his quality – plus the last couple of seasons he’s making good assists and good passes.
“He’s a player that will hurt any centre-back. There is no centre-back in the country including van Dijk that isn’t going to have problems with Michail Antonio.”
Antonio may not have scored in his last 11 Premier League matches, but his all-round game and tireless running makes him a huge asset to the Londoner’s side.