There’s good news for West Ham fans on the back of a big breaking story that said Marko Arnautovic would leave the club for Champions League football.
Talking on the latest episode of the West Ham Way podcast, ExWHUemployee, a very reliable source of West Ham club news said that the story didn’t originate from Arnautovic and he had no idea it was going to break.
He added that the story came from his brother and agent, who is constantly agitating for a better deal or a big move for the attacker who’s in the form of his life.
“His bother, who is his agent, said that he is looking to get CL football,” said ExWHUemployee. “I knew this story was going to break and I asked around and did some research. His agent, his brother, has been described as a pest. His brother is always trying to get him a better deal, he called Man United in the summer.
“Let’s be honest, Arnie is 29 and this will be his last big-money move. His agent’s got nothing to lose and his only loyalty is to his brother. Arnautovic was surprised by the reaction to this and didn’t know the story was coming out.
“He said he backed his brother as he didn’t want to say he was talking rubbish out of loyalty. He said he trusts his brother. It’s good for West Ham as he didn’t initiate these rumours.
“He [his brother] said he came very close to leaving in the summer but he didn’t as we didn’t have an offer for him. Arnautovic has a knee injury, has been playing all season with this and is he going to pass a medical in January?
“I can’t promise he won’t go but I would imagine bids will come in for him in the summer. Man United and Chelsea are two teams that are interested. I think it’s more that his agent wants to get him a new contract. If Nasri is coming in for £80k then he would think Arnautovic is worth £160k-a-week.”
OPINION
This is good news for West Ham fans, who might have been worried when they saw this story, and then even more concerned when Arnautovic said that he “trusted” his brother. It sounds like he knew nothing about this story coming out and has not agitated for a move himself. It seems that it’s his agent doing what agents do best – trying to get more money for their clients. There’s no doubt that Arnautovic is in the form of his life at the moment, and he’s not in the upper echelons of West Ham earners after their recent transfer activity. However, he’s also carrying a knee injury that West Ham are having to manage carefully and it does seem very unlikely that he would pass a medical at the moment even if he were to get an offer. There were no offers for him over the summer and it remains to be seen if anyone comes in for him in January. That’s highly unlikely and it seems like he will spend at least the rest of this season at the London Stadium.