Stoke City playmaker Marko Arnautovic is set to become a West Ham United player within the “next 48 hours”, according to the Evening Standard.
The newspaper claims that the Hammers have seen a fee of £23million accepted for the 28-year-old, which will make him the club’s highest record transfer.
The report claims that the Austrian has also agreed personal terms with the East London club and he is set to undergo a medical and join forces with his new teammates in the next few days.
West Ham had reportedly seen two bids rejected from Stoke for Arnautovic but it appears that the two Premier League teams have reached an agreement which will see the attacking midfielder ply his trade at the London Stadium next season.
It is said that Stoke were eager to receive an offer in excess of £20million as they are contractually obliged to pay Arnautovic’s former side Werden Bremen 20 per cent of any further transfer fee.
The Hammers appear to be stepping up their summer transfer activity as Sky Sports correspondent Kaveh Solkehol recently claimed on his personal Twitter account that Bayer Leverkusen striker Javier Hernandez could complete a deal to join West Ham within days.
Arnautovic is set to become an important part of the West Ham first-team set-up next season as manager Slaven Bilic looks to mount a serious challenge on the Europa League places.
The Austria international has demonstrated throughout his four-year spell in the Premier League that he is capable of delivering the goods, notching up a total of 22 goals and 27 assists.