OPINION
Marko Arnautovic’s future at West Ham certainly appears to be coming to an end sooner rather than later and while he still remains in east London, that is not going to be the case for long.
As their talisman up top, the Austrian’s exit is going to be a huge blow to Manuel Pellegrini and his side’s hopes for the rest of the season so it should come as no surprise to hear reports claiming of potential replacements.
The Daily Mail claim that the Hammers have bid not once but twice for Genoa’s Krztysztof Piatek this month – both being rejected – with Calcio News 24 stating that the second offer was in the region of £39.2million.
That is some serious money to be splashing out and really a little excessive – even if he has scored 19 goals this season – and there are plenty of other options who can have the Irons faithful forgetting about Arnie in no time.
One such man is 24-year-old Eintracht Frankfurt striker Sebastien Haller, the French forward in some seriously fine form for the Bundesliga outfit this season.
With nine league goals and eight assists in 17 appearances in Germany’s top flight, he is cut straight out of the same mould as Arnautovic – tall, powerful but also mobile and with an ability to not only score goals but bring his teammates into the game.
German publication Frankfurter Allgemaine claimed before Christmas that Frankfurt valued Haller at up to £26million (€30million) and that is a price tag much more befitting of what the Irons should be spending.
A striker who has scored goals at all stages of his career, including an impressive record for France’s under-21 side, Haller is a much more affordable option for the Irons – and is also a like-for-like replacement for Arnautovic, leaving the Austrian to be cast to the past.