Why West Ham made a great choice by rejecting any bids for Marko Arnautovic
Ever since his £24 million move from Stoke City, forward Marko Arnautovic has been hot and cold for West Ham. The 29-year-old struggled in his first few months before a masterstroke by then manager David Moyes, which instantly saw a rise in both West Ham’s and Arnautovic’s form.
Since then, the relationship between both the Hammers and the Austrian has been good with the 29-year-old playing a major part in Manuel Pellegrini’s plans this season.
However, with the Guardian reporting that an un-named Chinese Super League side made a £35m bid for the striker, it seems that West Ham could be in trouble. But the English news outlet has further added, that the Hammers rejected the bid for their top scorer, instead opting to keep Arnautovic.
The club have already been held hostage by one player in their recent past, with Dmitri Payet forcing a move back to Marseille despite signing a very lucrative contract with them, six months prior to his departure. That was a massive blow and proved to be the downfall of then manager Slaven Bilic, with the former West Ham boss struggling to cope with losing his star player.
Now with West Ham having spent heavily over the summer to satisfy former Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini, their new manager, the club will not want to lose their top goal-scorer.
That’s something that is irreplaceable, especially given Arnautovic’s work rate and perseverance leading the line for them. The 29-year-old has had a hand in at least 29 goals since he arrived for West Ham, which is the best in terms of contribution.
While they do need to add some help, losing the only goal-scoring player they have at the moment will possibly be even worse than letting Dmitri Payet hold them hostage.
However, now that the Austrian knows that he is a wanted man, there is a chance that he will use that to get a better contract at the Olympic Stadium, but that is a risk that West Ham have to take.
Not only do they need to give him a new contract, but they also need to make sure he cannot leave even if he wants to by convincing Marko Arnautovic that they can win the Premier League. While it may seem a rather shocking claim, just remember that Leicester City did it and hence, West Ham probably have a better chance for the same.
