OPINION
West Ham must sign Fulham attacker Aleksandar Mitrovic after Marko Arnautovic’s agent shared that his client was keen on an exit.
Arnautovic’s agent told talkSPORT on Thursday that the forward wanted to join a club so he could challenge for titles and that he wished for the Hammers to accept the recent bid they got from China.
“He wants to go to a new market and challenge for titles. This is what he wants,” a statement by Danijel Arnautovic read, as transcribed by the radio station’s website.
“It is his great desire that West Ham accept the offer from China.”
The Hammers were thought to have received a £35million bid from a Chinese club on Wednesday, as reported by talkSPORT, for Arnautovic but were reported by the Mirror as having turned it down.
However given that the player based on his agent’s remarks has had his head turned, Manuel Pellegrini should sanction the player’s exit in order to protect the positive atmosphere in the dressing room and spend the funds acquired from his sale on a suitable replacement.
This should see the Hammers go all out to sign Fulham’s goalscoring powerhouse Mitrovic as he ticks all the boxes and reportedly could be tempted by an exit.
The Sun reported on Thursday that Fulham had turned down a £50million bid from a Chinese club for their forward but that the attacker was believed to be tempted by an exit due to the big money on offer.
The Hammers would be well equipped to table their own lucrative deal for Mitrovic if Arnautovic left, and that means he is a realistic target.
While the national newspaper claim that Fulham do not want to sell Mitrovic, given the fact he has scored eight league goals this season despite them struggling, if his head has been turned then they may be fighting a losing battle.
The forward is the perfect player to replace the hole that Arnautovic will leave if he exits the club as not only is he significantly younger and constantly improving at the age of 24-years-old, he is a powerful physical presence who is known to be able to score goals in the Premier League.
Therefore instead of trying to change Arnautovic mind or risk a toxic presence being at the club, the Hammers should cash in and go all out for Mitrovic.
