Michail Antonio says he is not bothered by West Ham United fans referring to him as the 'missing person'.

Despite West Ham splashing £7million to secure the services of Michail Antonio from Nottingham Forest over the summer, the winger did not feature at all for the Hammers during the first three months of his arrival at the Boleyn Ground.

A Twitter hoax that saw Hammers co-chairman David Gold retweet a post with a picture of Antonio with the accompanying message: '@davidgold please RT trying to raise awareness for my mate who went missing in Manchester a few weeks ago' has prompted the 'missing person' moniker but Antonio insists he is not worried after turning in a Man of the Match performance in the 2-1 win over Southampton on Monday.

Antonio said: "To be honest, I see it as banter. I am laid-back and I don't take it to heart. But if I am honest, for the first three months I was a missing person.

"I was sat on the bench, not playing, and stuff like that. I can accept that. For the past four years or five years, if I have been fit I have been playing. I can definitely understand the banter – it is part of life and football. You can't take the banter out of football because without it, it wouldn't be the same."