Former West Ham defender Stuart Pearce has suggested that the Hammers are strong enough to cope with losing Marko Arnautovic.
The Austrian has been heavily linked with a move to China this month, with teammate Michail Antonio seemingly confirming that he wants to leave the club, as reported by the BBC.
But ex-Irons man Pearce believes that his old side are good enough to handle losing their star man.
Speaking to talkSPORT, he said: “He’s a real talent at this football club and they have accumulated players well. Anderson is a very good player and intelligent, Fabianski is intelligent.
“They are a much stronger squad than they were last year and if Marko was to leave the club I think they are in a better position to deal with that.”
OPINION
Pearce makes a really good point. Whereas most people have lost their heads over the prospect of West Ham losing Arnautovic, the former England man has rightly pointed ou that the Irons have a very strong squad with or without him. They managed okay during his absence with a hamstring injury earlier in the season, and since then have brought in Samir Nasri as another source of creative output. Obviously losing the Austrian would not be ideal, but even if they had to struggle through to the end of the season without him, you would imagine that they have enough quality in their side to mount a serious challenge for European football. The 29-year-old appears to be dead set on moving to the Far East, and if his mind his made up then it might best to just let him go, as opposed to facing the potential disruption of having an unruly player in the dressing room.