Sky Sports’ Jeff Stelling has suggested that West Ham forward Marko Arnautovic could well be remaining at the London Stadium next season.
Arnautovic has had a mixed season this campaign for West Ham, with the Austrian scoring 10 Premier goals, but also being linked with a January move away from the club, which the Hammers were reportedly willing to sanction if the deal was right, according to BBC Sport.
However, no move materialised in the January window, and now Stelling has suggested that the attacker’s actions at a club auction in the week suggests he could be remaining at the club net season.
“At the auction Arnautovic paid over £2000 to appear in West Ham’s club photo next season, which suggests he could be remaining next season,” Stelling told Sky Sports News on Sunday [2:41pm].
OPINION
Stellings’ revelation that Arnautovic paid money at a club auction to be part of West Ham’s club photo next season, suggests that he could well be staying at the London Stadium next season. That could be very important for Manuel Pellegrini’s side, with Arnautovic a key player for West Ham when he is at his best, as was seen in the Hammers’ recent wins against Tottenham and Southampton. Arnautoivic has been linked with a move away from the club, with intense speculation throughout the January window, which led to the Austrian being dropped from the squad and suffering a goal draught on his return. However, he now appears to be re-settled at the London Stadium and if he is willing to remain at the club next season he will be a key part in West Ham’s attempts to improve in Pellegrini’s second season in charge. Pellegrini will be hoping to keep Arnautovic at the club next summer, so that he can concentrate on improving other areas of his side rather than replacing the Austrian.
