West Ham want to sign Marko Arnautovic
West Ham are interested in bringing Marko Arnautovic back to the London Stadium, according to 1000 Cuori Rossoblu.
The striker’s contract expires next summer and Crystal Palace and Bologna have joined the race to sign the 32-year-old.
Per the report, West Ham would be willing to pay the Austrian €4million a year, which works at around £67,000 a week – a big fall from his reported £200,000 a week salary in China [The Mirror].
David Moyes is a big fan of Arnautovic and has previously praised his “power, pace and quality on the ball” [whufc.com], so he could be keen to reunite with the forward.
Never go back?
Arnaotovic did not leave East London in the best of circumstances and because of that several Hammers fans may not be keen to see him return.
He is now two years older too and has spent the last few seasons playing at a lower standard.
Those factors raise questions about his suitability, particularly as West Ham have grown since he has been away.
He previously stood out in a poor team, but now we are a European chasing side with a team that is better than the sum of its parts – an individual like Arnautovic threatens to disrupt our harmony.
However, it is difficult to deny his quality and how good he was for us in his last spell.
And with Shanghai Port he has 19 goals in 25 Chinese Super League games, so he clearly still knows where the goal is.
Austria manager Franco Foda has previously applauded Arnautovic’s ‘extraordinary skills’ [whufc.com], and it is difficult to lose technical ability, even with age.
Bringing him in would represent a big gamble, but with a point to prove he could turn out to be a shrewd bit of business.
In other West Ham news, ‘Relegated’ – Trevor Sinclair calls for major change after West Ham incident.