Championship strugglers’ miss out as Michail Antonio picks new club

Michail Antonio has decided to join Qatari side Al Sailya on a short-term deal, talkSPORT understands.

The striker has not played senior club football since December 2024 after suffering a broken leg in a horrific car accident.

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Antonio left West Ham when his contract expired in the summer, but continued his rehabilitation at the east Londoners afterwards.

He then trained at Leicester City and was on course to sign a short-term contract before the deal fell through.

talkSPORT reported earlier this month that Leicester’s Championship rivals Charlton Athletic held initial talks with the 35-year-old.

The Addicks are 18th in the second tier and seven points clear of the bottom three after their 1-1 draw against West Brom on Tuesday night.

Antonio also trained with Nathan Jones’ side and was looking at a pay-as-you-play deal.

However, after holding talks with Al Sailiya, the striker has decided to head to the Middle East.

The Doha-based club compete in the Qatar Stars League, which is the country’s top division.

Former Everton defender Mason Holgate, who has played alongside Antonio for Jamaica, is on loan at the club from Al Gharafa.

Ex-Aston Villa and Cardiff City winger Anwar El Ghazi also features for Al Sailiya.

Antonio says no to Charlton

With 12 matches left to play this season, Charlton will hope to avoid being dragged into a relegation battle.

Their seven-point gap above the relegation zone looks comfortable on paper, but this could decrease within a matter of days.

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Charlton still have fixtures against promotion hopefuls such as Southampton, Wrexham, Middlesbrough and Ipswich Town to play.

The Addicks’ top scorer this season on eight goals is Sonny Carey.

Charlie Kelman is their highest-scoring striker with four, whilst Miles Leaburn has three.

Antonio would have arrived at The Valley as a player with past experience of playing in the Championship.

He made 142 appearances in the division across his spells at Reading, Sheffield Wednesday and Nottingham Forest.

The forward netted 28 times and assisted another 30, so his quality in front of goal could boost towards Charlton away from the drop.