By Declan Walsh

19th Mar, 2023 | 8:04am

Farhad Moshiri to fund Everton bid to sign Michail Antonio from West Ham United

Farhad Moshiri is ready to fund a move to sign Michail Antonio from West Ham in the summer if Everton avoid relegation this season, according to Alan Nixon.

The newspaper journalist reported via his Patreon account on Sunday (19 March) that the Blues will make an “ambitious” bid to land the 32-year-old Jamaica international with Sean Dyche in the market to sign two new forwards in the summer transfer window.

It is understood that Antonio is top of Everton’s shortlist and any new striker arrivals at Goodison Park would push Neal Maupay down the pecking order.

Really?

Nixon dubs the move as “ambitious” but it’s everything but that.

West Ham are below Everton in the Premier League table as it stands and Antonio, their main man up front, has just three goals in 23 league appearances this season.

He has nine goals and four assists in 33 outings in all competitions but the bulk of them have come in the Europa Conference League against sides like FCSB, AEK Larnaca and Viborg.

Absolute giants of European football.

Antonio was good a few seasons ago – David Moyes regularly hailed the “fantastic” forward – but it’s been very clear over the last 12 months that his performances are starting to wane [BBC Sport].

He’s going to celebrate his 33rd birthday next week so why on earth would Everton look to sign an ageing striker who’s on the decline in terms of his form?

This seems like a complete waste of time and while he may well turn out to be better than Maupay and potentially a good fit for Dyche, there have to be better options out there.

Kevin Thelwell needs to do better than this.