Sky Sports pundit Tony Gale has heaped huge criticism on West Ham United summer signing Marko Arnautovic in the wake of the club sacking Slaven Bilic.
The 28-year-old secured a permanent move to the London Stadium during the summer transfer window from fellow Premier League side Stoke City, for a club-record fee that could potentially rise to £25million.
However, the attacking midfielder has failed to live up to expectations so far this season, receiving a red card in only his second league for the club in the 3-2 loss against Southampton.
The Austrian has made a total of nine appearances but he has failed to contribute with a single goal in the process.
Arnautovic has only managed to provide two assists for the club but they both came in the Carabao Cup victory over Championship side Bolton Wanderers.
Speaking on the Sky Sports News morning show Premier League Daily (Monday, 6 November, 11am), former Hammer Gale was quick to single out the Austrian for criticism.
“When you’re signing players like Marko Arnautovic, he hasn’t been trying,” he said as quoted in the Daily Express.
“He cost £25million, they put him on top money at the football club and other players are going to look around and think ‘hang on a minute, this is a guy who is no trying a leg for our football team and we’re running our socks off.
“You have to question some of the signings. They haven’t had a particularly good last few windows.”
OPINION
It is fair to say that Arnautovic has been a major disappointment for the Hammers so far this season. He has failed to deliver the goods when the team needed him most during their poor start to the campaign and his ill-discipline has already also reared its ugly head. It might be unfair to solely blame him for the demise of Bilic at the East London club, but he is one player who has appeared to lack commitment and desire this season, which is something that the Hammers faithful demand as a minimum. It will be interesting to see whether he can perform at a better level under another manager but one thing is clear – he has a long way to go to demonstrate to the fans that he is worth the money.