Club football has returned, and therefore so is the NextGoalWinner Player of the Month awards. The very first month of club football in the Premier League saw three rounds of fixtures before the international break kicks in (we can discuss the madness of that some other time). In just those 3 weekends we have seen some incredible results, shock victories and some star players hitting an early run of form.

One of those star players, is West Ham United’s Michail Antonio, who in just 3 appearances this month, has scored 4 and set up 3, earning an average rating of 8.8/10 during this time. He has been an absolute handful in the opening few fixtures for the Hammers’, and with their Europa League campaign on the horizon, Moyes will be keen to keep him on this same run during some Thursday night fixtures.

If you have anything to add to our NextGoalWinner POTM decision, or disagree with our pick, head over to Twitter (@NextGoalWinBlog) and let us know what you think.

Match By Match

August 15th: Newcastle United 2-4 West Ham United – In the Premier League opening weekend, West Ham entered the season in dramatic fashion, with a comeback against Newcastle to win 4-2 and get their season up and running. Antonio was a major factor in the comeback and victory as a whole, setting up the Benrahma goal to make it 2-2, before following up his missed penalty to finish the game and make it 4-2. Playing 89 minutes of this one, he was joint star man according to FotMob rating (8.4/10). Had he not missed the penalty in the first instance, an argument could have been made for an even higher rating, however he was really a dangerous threat who’s constant influence led to Newcastle’s capitulation.

August 23rd: West Ham United 4-1 Leicester City – The winning start continued a week later, with an even more impressive result over Leicester City. It was another 4 goals for the Hammers, this time with Antonio scoring 2 and setting up another. He was remarkable once again on Monday night as he earnt a 9.4/10 performance. Completing the most dribbles in the game (3), and winning the most duels (10) Antonio showed again that not only is he a threat in front of goal, but also a key player in all aspects of the game, and a real handful for the opposition.

August 28th: West Ham United 2-2 Crystal Palace – In the third and final game of the month for West Ham, Antonio bagged his 3rd incredible performance, with an 8.6/10 rating for his role in the back and forth game between the two London sides. Antonio was crucial as he set up the Hammers’ first and scored their second, although they failed to hold on to the led and conceded just a minute later. Despite losing their 100% winning run, they do remain unbeaten, while Antonio secured his 4th goal and 3rd assist in as many games. Having their main striker up and running has been the key to West Ham’s impressive start, and with a European run on the horizon, Moyes will be desperate to keep Antonio on the same run of form.