West Ham will refuse to pay Marko Arnautovic £200,000-a-week for fear of shattering their wage structure and upsetting their dressing room, according to the Sun.
The newspaper claim the Hammers hierarchy will refuse to meet the demands of their star player after being quoted £10million-a-year to keep him happy with a new deal.
The Sun report that West Ham insiders believe Arnautovic is simply holding out for a bigger pay day after his brother Daniel claimed this week the Austria international sees the London club as a mere stepping stone in his career.
OPINION
Given that Arnautovic reportedly has four-and-a-half years remaining on a £130,000-a-week deal, Irons are unlikely to be impressed by the comments of his brother and agent this week. The striker’s representative claimed West Ham “cannot be the end” for the player and “he has to play for a top team”. The foundations are clearly being laid by the player to engineer a transfer, whether that is in January or at the end of the season. Certainly, no one can question the influence the big Austrian has had this year, ever since David Moyes handed him a new central striker role and transformed him from misfiring to magnificent. Arnautovic has banged in 16 league goals since last December for West Ham and has developed into a potent Premier League spearhead, just outside the top bracket of Mohamed Salah, Harry Kane and Sergio Aguero. Is he too good for the Londoners? It appears to be the case that the swaggering front man thinks he is.