Marko Arnautovic has been told by West Ham he will be sold at the end of the season, according to the Evening Standard.
The regional newspaper claim the Hammers hierarchy are refusing to cash in on the Austria international this month even if he goes on strike in an attempt to secure a move to China.
The Standard report Arnautovic will have to wait until the summer to get the transfer he wants, and the club have attempted to sweeten their demand by claiming they will not stand in his way at that point.
OPINION
West Ham are right to pull up the drawbridge this month and refuse to let Arnautovic leave. There is little or no chance of signing a striker who can make a similar impact in the second half of the campaign, before the 31 January cut-off. One of the big problems facing the Hammers hierarchy over what is a very tricky issue is that the Chinese Super League window remains open until the end of February. This means another month of potential strops, strikes and pressure behind the scenes from a footballer not renowned anyway for the coolest of heads. Should West Ham receive a £50million-plus offer, there is a clear sense that Irons wouldn’t see Arnautovic for dust. Yet, how willing are Shanghai SIPG to pay that kind of money for a player who turns 30 in April, even if he has just come off the back of the best year of his playing career? There are set to be plenty of twists and turns in this transfer saga.