Reliable source ExWHUemployee has denied an online suggestion that Arsenal are plotting a move for West Ham playmaker Andriy Yarmolenko.
The Ukrainian signed for the Hammers last summer on a contract worth £115,000-a-week [Spotrac], but endured a torrid first season in England after tearing his achilles.
An anonymous Twitter account had suggested that the Gunners could offer £25 million for the 29-year-old in the coming days, but Ex has quickly quelled those rumours.
Writing on his personal account, he said: “I doubt it is true”.
OPINION
This is frankly ludicrous. Genuine in-the-know accounts like ExWHUemployee must despair when they come across nonsensical claims like this made by random sources on the internet. The only thing a rumour like this serves to highlight is just how easy it is for rubbish to circulate in an online environment of relative anonymity, and it shows just how important it is to only get updates from recognised and reliable sources. As for Yarmolenko, the Hammers would be mad to move him on this summer. After suffering that horrendous injury last term, he never really got himself up and running in the claret and blue, but in the brief time he did have on the field, he was more than impressive, with a pass completion rate of 83.8% and a dispossession rate of just 1.2 times per game [Whoscored]. He will be like a new signing this coming season, and moving him on would be daft.