West Ham manager Slaven Bilic has hailed the arrival of Marko Arnautovic as a ‘massive’ move for the club following the Austrian’s arrival at the London Stadium.
Arnautovic signed for the Hammers on a five-year-deal for a club record £25 million earlier this week from Premier League rivals Stoke City. The 28-year-old had been with the Potters for four seasons before the move.
Bilic’s third signing of the summer after having completed moves for both Pablo Zabaleta and Joe Hart already, the Croatian believes his side can benefit hugely from the arrival of Arnautovic.
Speaking on whufc.com, he said: “It’s a great thing for the Club. It’s a big signing – he is a massive player who knows the league, which is very important. He is in his best age, he is very motivated and I know him very well. He is a top player and he can play all across the front line, so he is a great signing for the Club.”
Bilic then added: “Like everybody else he has to prove himself, but I expect him to and he comes into the category of players who don’t need to adjust a lot to the league because he has been here for four years.
“He became one of, if not the, best and most important Stoke players. Stoke is good club, so with all that and knowing that today it’s not easy to get top players, it makes it a great signing for us.”
Arnautovic is expected to make his West Ham debut next week when they face Werder Bremen in back to back fixtures in Germany.
