West Ham United striker Marko Arnautovic wants the club to accept a £35million bid from an unnamed Chinese Super League club, according to a bombshell statement from his agent and brother.
The Hammers have no desire to sell their star asset despite the bid representing a potential £15million profit on the Austria international, who has scored eight goals this season.
Danijel Arnautovic, his brother and agent, has now delivered a major blow to the Irons by confirming that the player wants to leave London for China after the £35m bid [BBC].
Speaking to talkSPORT, he said: “He wants to go to a new market and challenge for titles. This is what he wants. It is his great desire that West Ham accept the offer from China.
“He knows the West Ham fans love him and he has a special connection with them, but things move on, this is the world of sport, and he hopes they can understand.
“Marko is professional and is preparing himself for the Arsenal game. He will give 100 per cent for West Ham. That is Marko. He will never change. Until he is no longer a West Ham player, he will give everything to the club. He hopes the fans can respect his wishes.”
OPINION
If Arnautovic truly does want to leave West Ham for China, then it really proves what everyone has been saying about him all along: he does not have the right attitude to reach the top. Arnautovic has always been a talented player, but attitude issues and clashes with managers have littered his career, and limited his success. It had looked like he was finally clicking into gear at West Ham as he saved the club from relegation last season before picking up where he left off this time around, but this statement seems to bring all that into question. His agent claims he wants to leave to challenge for titles, but is the Chinese Super League really a title worth having? Admittedly, he is unlikely to be winning the Premier League with West Ham any time soon, but any success in England is worth far more than raking in the cash in China.