Premier League rivals Stoke have emphatically rejected a mega eight-figure bid from West Ham for star forward Marko Arnautovic, according to Sky journalist Kaveh Solhekol.
The reliable transfer reporter has claimed on his personal Twitter account on Wednesday afternoon that the Hammers have had second bid worth £20million rejected for the 28-year-old after previously having a £15million bid received the same way.
West Ham have made second bid for Marko Arnautovic – £20m. Rejected by Stoke. First bid was £15m. Has handed in transfer request
— Kaveh Solhekol (@SkyKaveh) July 12, 2017
Arnautovic has since handed in a transfer request to the Midlands giants, but it is clear that Stoke are not prepared to let the Austria international leave without the buying club meeting their high valuations.
Anything above £20million would now mark West Ham’s record fee spent after bringing in attacker Andre Ayew for a club record £20.5million from Swansea last summer.
It would also equal Stoke’s record sale by some distance with Asmir Begovic’s £8million move to Chelsea in 2015 the highest fee the club have received for one of their players.
Arnautovic himself only cost Stoke £2million in the summer of 2013 after leaving Werder Bremen.
However, during his four years at the club he has become one of Mark Hughes’ most important players with 145 appearances for the club, scoring 26 times and turning provider on 32 occasions.
He is also still contracted to the Midlands team until 2020, meaning all of the power is with them.