West Ham United are tempted to sell striker Marko Arnautovic this summer, according to the Guardian.
The newspaper claim on their website that the Hammers feel let down by the Austrian, and would consider any bid in the region of £40million for the 30-year-old.
The Guardian report that West Ham held a clause in his deal which meant any club wishing to sign the forward must have done so before the 14th June, but Manuel Pellegrini is suggested to be willing to let Arnautovic leave in July.
This comes after Sky Sports claimed that the Austrian international had handed in another transfer request on Tuesday, which was followed by a £19million offer from an unnamed Chinese club – a bid that was rejected.
OPINION
It is getting to the stage now where it would be better for West Ham to accept defeat and sell Arnautovic. The Austrian has become a loose cannon in previous years, after previously submitting a transfer request in January too. The club were reported to have placed the £40million buy-out clause in his new deal worth £120,000 per-week at the beginning of the year – a fee they will most likely struggle to receive for a 30-year-old. With a forward reportedly Pellegrini’s top target, the time has definitely come to get rid of Arnautovic, who only managed to score 10 Premier League goals last season [WhoScored]. With the Hammers now needing to sell players in order to complete further transfer business, Arnautovic would be the obvious choice to sell. Getting rid of reportedly unhappy players will be key to any success in the top flight next season. Should West Ham receive anything close to the suggested £40million that they are after, they must accept it and secure the signing of a more young and hungry forward.
