Everton are in hot pursuit of West Ham forward Marko Arnautovic, the Austria international’s agent has confirmed.
In an interview with Sky Sports Italy journalist Gianluca di Marzio, Arnautovic’s brother Daniel, who is also his agent, has revealed that Chelsea and other clubs in the Premier League are eyeing up the ex-Stoke star.
It has also been confirmed that Arnautovic, 29, is ready to move away from West Ham and play for a team that is competing in Europe.
“He is ready for the next step,” Daniel Arnautovic said. “It’s not like that he wants to leave, but we believe that the time has come that Marko takes a step forward in his career, maybe try to win a trophy, maybe the Champions League. The stats are on his side”.
He added: “Many Premier League clubs are following him, like Chelsea and Everton, but they are not the only ones.”
OPINION
Everton may well be interested in signing Arnautovic, but the chance of West Ham letting him leave for one of their nearest rivals are zero to none because there are no two teams similarly matched in terms of quality and ambition than the Toffees and the Hammers. Everton perhaps have a better shot at qualifying for European competitions than West Ham, but Arnautovic seems like he would only move to a team that plays in the Champions League or at the very least Europa League on a regular basis. Chelsea have that but they surely would want someone more prolific than the Austrian. Arnautovic is in good form at the London Stadium, scoring five goals in 10 appearances this season, but he is hardly top-four material. He should be happy with where he is right now really. He is playing well, is loved by the fans and is probably at his level.