Crossed arms and all – SIGH!
West Ham are expecting the bid for Marko Arnautovic to rise over the next few days but in the meantime, it’s business as usual in the striker’s life.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding his future the Austrian is understood to have been at training this morning ahead of the weekend game against Bournemouth.
The Hammers have made it very clear that he is going nowhere for what they consider a ridiculous €35 million (£31 million) and that another €10 million is a minimum requirement.
A senior source told ClaretandHugh on the telephone: “It is likely the club concerned will come back with an improved offer.”
However, even then it is no given he would be allowed to go and talks with the manager are very much on the agenda before any deal is done. Manuel Pellegrini alone will make the decision.
Pellegrini knows all about Chinese football and is set for a big heart to heart over what the player can expect to find in a country which is still considered worldwide as a backwater of the game.
The 65-year-old was extremely happy to return to the Premier League after a ruling was introduced that Chinese Super League teams needed to contain at least eight local players.
He will no doubt give his own opinion of the game in that country but there remains no chance of there remains no chance of him leaving under the terms of the present offer.
The price is getting lower, the bottom line is that if a club in China are prepared to pay £400k a week they are prepared to make a statement with the signing fee also. 45 million Euro is not enough to get him in the January window.
Hugh, do we know if Stoke’s share is 20% of the overall fee, or 20% of the profit?
I’m unsure if Arnie’s precise cost has ever been established, but assuming it was around £22m, a sale at €45m (£40m) results in either £8m to Stoke or £3.6m…
Let’s hope it’s the latter, meaning a €45m offer leaves us the best part of £36m to find a replacement…
It’s all bull**** untill Anautovic makes a statement of consent . If he doesn’t then it’s a definite goodbye . I would rather keep Hernandez than Anautovic . Short and sweet of it is that Anautovic needs to commit . Hernandez is frustrating . Pelligrini has what seems an impossible job to most of us but , we shall go forward no matter what the rubbish gets thrown our way by childish players earning millions whilst the fans pay for them . We put our Heart & Souls into our club and I for one , am ****ed off with greedy s**ts . It’s a squad game and if they can’t except that on Thier huge wages then Fu**em .
The Sour-Faced Austrian Money-grabber should be made to train on his own and not allowed to go anywhere near the first team squad; loyal players only