BREAKING NEWS: Michail Antonio signs new contract

Turns out David Gold was right on Twitter.

Michail Antonio, West Ham United’s leading scorer this season and winner of the annual “Hammer of the year” award has put pen to paper and signed a new contract that will see him stay at the club until 2021. The club’s official website, whufc.com, broke the news earlier today with Antonio saying:

When I was younger, I was growing up in south London and I used to come to West Ham games. I've loved my time here. Last season I managed to finish as runner-up in the Hammer of the Year award and this year I've won it, so it's a case of pushing on and I don't want to drop my standards next season.

"This year has been a better year than last year because I've played from start to finish and I managed to get the England call-up I've been dreaming of since I was a child. Hopefully I can keep pushing on and doing even better, because I always want to do better than I have done previously."

Club chairman David Sullivan told the official website that “Michail has been absolutely outstanding since he joined the Club nearly two years ago, and was deservedly voted Hammer of the Year this week. We are determined to keep our best players at the Club and Michail is certainly one of them. His best years are still ahead of him and we are looking forward to seeing him spend them in a Claret and Blue shirt.”

This should hopefully put an end to months of speculation that Michail Antonio would be on his way to Chelsea, as he was linked to a possible move to the West London club in January and rumors of discontent with his contract lingered for months. No details as to the wage or any release clause were available on the club’s website, but they are sure to leak out over the next couple of days. Hopefully this new contract will see Antonio stay at the London Stadium for the next couple of years and help the Hammers challenge for a European spot next year.