Stuart Pearce has weighed in on the debate surrounding the future of West Ham United striker Marko Arnautovic by reinforcing just how important he is to the club.
He believes that the 6ft 4in [Transfermarkt] ace owes a lot to former manager David Moyes, who was the person who started to play him up front as a centre-forward – a position which he has since thrived in, especially this season.
However, he claims that if a club table a suitable offer for the Austrian’s services, then there is no doubt that he will leave the Hammers.
“You’ve probably got to outline to Marko (how important he is). In my opinion Marko wasn’t the player (he is now, compared to the start of my time at West Ham). He owes a lot to David Moyes for playing him up front as a centre forward and also probably owes a lot to West Ham,” he told talkSPORT [23:27].
“That’s really important that he knows how valued he is. (But) I think in modern day football if players want moves or not if someone comes down and puts enough money on the table at West Ham, money talks doesn’t it. He’s gone.”
OPINION
Pearce has pretty much summed up here just how important Arnautovic is to the success of the club – and he could not be more right. Bar a few games which he missed through injury, West Ham’s main source of attacking threat has stemmed from the Austria international, and the fans will forever be grateful for that. However, they will not be pleased to know that Pearce does not rate the chance of Arnautovic staying at the London Stadium very highly. It is hard not to agree with him here – if the Hammers receive a substantial bid that would be enough for them to invest in another player themselves, then there is every opportunity that they will accept it. Like Pearce pointed out, there is a lot that he owes to Irons – Moyes especially – and he must not forget that if he does end up moving to a bigger club.