West Ham player had ‘personal reasons’ to reject surprise January offer – Was club’s Plan A

Earlier this month, we covered reports from Brazil which said Grêmio tried to sign Michail Antonio from West Ham United.

It’s said the striker even agreed to join the Tricolor, but a knee injury showed up in the medical tests and the deal collapsed.

As Portal do Gremista’s Guilherme Ness now shares an update on the situation, he now claims it was the West Ham player who gave up on the move.

According to this new report, Antonio had ‘personal reasons’ to reject the transfer. He also wanted a longer contract, while Grêmio have been working with short-term deals.

The Brazilian club were looking for a replacement for Luis Suarez, who left for Inter Miami. Now that they failed to sign Antonio, who was their plan A, they ended up signing former Chelsea striker Diego Costa.

Antonio has two goals and two assists in 14 appearances for West Ham this season, and this knee injury has indeed sidelined him for nearly three months now.

His contract with the Hammers expires in the summer, although there is an option for an extra year that can be triggered to keep him around a bit longer.