Thursday 1 September 2016 16:33, UK
Michail Antonio will be a winger for West Ham, David Sullivan has confirmed, despite starting the season at right-back.
Hammers' manager Slaven Bilic had been deploying Antonio at full-back in their opening Premier League fixtures, with the 26-year-old earning a debut call up to the England squad in Sam Allardyce's first England squad.
Bilic suggested Antonio could develop into a right-back similar to that of Manchester United's Antonio Valencia after he scored the winner in West Ham's 1-0 win over Bournemouth in August, but the club moved to bring in former Real Madrid defender Alvaro Arbeloa on Transfer Deadline Day.
And after the Spaniard's arrival, the club's owner Sullivan has announced a decision has been taken to play Antonio only as a winger from now on.
"Before the Deadline Day on Wednesday we had an unbalanced squad and we needed to change a few things around," Sullivan told the club's official website.
"The decision has now been made that Michail Antonio will play as a winger after originally starting the season as a right-back.
"As a result we had to move out a winger, getting a £1.5m loan fee plus wages covered on Enner Valencia, and have brought in a full-back to compete with and help Sam Byram.
"We explored all avenues and managed to secure the signature of one of the more experienced full-backs in the world and one with Premier League experience."
After an injury to record-signing Andre Ayew ruled the striker out for up to four months, West Ham also moved to bring in Simone Zaza from Juventus before the transfer window closed on Wednesday.
Sullivan believes the 25-year-old Italy international could be a big hit in the Premier League, and revealed he could make his debut in their next game against Watford on September 10.
"Zaza could become one of the major stars and we saw his qualities when he came came on and scored at London Stadium a few weeks ago," Sullivan added.
"He's fit and ready to play. We expect him to lead the line against Watford."
