Arnautovic stays - for now

  • by Staff Writer
  • Sunday, 20th January 2019

Marko Arnautovic is set to remain a West Ham player for the time being at least, following the revelation that his Chinese suitors had ended their attempt to lure him to the Far East.

Although it had previously been widely reported that the Chinese Super League club interested in signing the Austrian international were Shanghai SIPG, it has now been revealed that it was Guangzhou Evergrande instead who were keen to complete a deal.

A £35million offer from Evergrande was instantly rejected last week by West Ham, who were seeking circa £50million for a player they signed from Stoke in 2017 for £20million.

And on Sunday it was revealed that Guangzhou, who finished runners-up to Shanghai in last season's Chinese Super League were no longer interested in pursuing the transfer - leaving Arnautovic in a state of limbo.

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Since prematurely waving his goodbyes to West Ham supporters when being substituted during the recent defeat of Arsenal at the Olympic Stadium ahead of the now-cancelled move, Arnautovic has been widely criticised by the fanbase and is unlikely to be widely welcomed back into the fold.

And manager Manuel Pellegrini may be loathe to utilise the 29-year-old any time soon regardless, given his withdrawal from the squad that were beaten 2-0 by Bournemouth on Saturday due to the player not being "in the right frame of mind".

Once dubbed "the bad boy of Austrian football" by Italian and German media, Arnautovic's career has been full of controversy. Whilst at Werder Bremen he was branded "arrogant" by captain Torsten Frings within days of joining the club, before later being suspended having being caught speeding.

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It was those and other problems that led to the striker joining Stoke for just £2milion in September 2013 - a transfer that a prescient then-City boss Mark Hughes described as "a coup".

Having impressed at the bet365 Stadium over the course of the next four seasons, West Ham moved to sign Arnautovic in the summer of 2017 for an initial £20million - much to the dismay of Hughes whose view was now somewhat difffer.

Following his move south, and at the suggestion of temporary manager David Moyes, he converted from winger to striker which led to him ending his first season in east London as leading goalscorer and becoming a widely admired player.

But having had his head turned by the lure of Chinese riches that have failed to materialise, for now, there would appear to be no easy way back for a player who once played to an adoring fanbase - a fanbase that feels very differently about him now.

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