TalkSport is today confirming the deal for Marko Arnautovic to move to China has collapsed and is unlikely to be resurrected.
The radio station who first broke the story through their new head of the radio station Lee Clayton is now conceding the deal is dead in the water. Arnautovic was left out of the squad yesterday with Pellegrini saying the 29-year-old “has his head on another issue”.
Talksport said this morning “Arnautovic now looks set to stay at the London Stadium after the club in China decided to drop their interest having initially indicated they were prepared to offer around £45million to secure his signature.”
Marko’s brother Danijel briefed TalkSport throughout the Chinese interest in Arnautovic and it was through the radio station he later released his statement through claiming Marko wanted to win trophies in China.
Talksport says “Pellegrini now faces the difficult task of trying to reintegrate Arnautovic into his squad, although he is understood to be relaxed about the situation and retains a good relationship with the former Stoke man.”
Claret and Hugh understand that the Chinese club in question were never prepared to budge beyond their £35m offer which would cost them £70m after tax and West Ham made it clear their striker was not for sale at that price. The Hammers would have netted around £30m after giving Stoke £3m in a sell on clause and another £1.75m in a solidarity payment. West Ham believed that could not replace their top goal scorer in this winter for £30m and Pellegrini refused to sanction any move.
The big test now is whether there is a way back for Marko Arnautoivic with the manager, players and the fans?
That is business, need to be able to secure a replacement. His agent could have sanctioned a reduction in salary if they really wanted the move to go ahead. You cannot have it all your way. We will now see how good a professional he is. I would allow him time to get over this of course but then he really needs to get back out there and show everyone how good he is and what a top professional he is. I believe the manager and players will welcome him back. Then relook at the situation in the summer and I think the summer is a better time to complete such a transfer.
Now we have 11 days to sweat that Chelsea or Man U. etc. don’t try to take advantage of the destabilization caused by this problem.
The mentioned proposed replacements were never going to replace him, and we were never assured of them joining us anyway. Some people were saying just get him out so we don’t have a Payet situation, but the would have been emotional knee-jerking, which is no good to anyone.
Anything can happen between now and the end of the window of course, but we should only sell if we have a realistic replacement lined up.
Of course, we could perhaps get a decent replacement for Hernandes or Perez, which would strengthen our squad.
If he plays like he can do then he will be welcomed back. He is a smart guy he will know £35m is well under current market rates. If we put the situation into perspective he has had one or two bad games the Arsenal game he was average and the Bournemouth game he was dropped. I think most fans will forgive him if he gets his mind back on the job and scoring goals or creating them.
He still wants to leave so , what kind of Anautovic are we likely to be left with .
Sorry I disagree how can I cheer him on when he plays knowing that at the first opportunity when more money comes with a move he will be off. Sorry I’d rather see Carroll play up top at least his heart is with us.
As for everyone saying it’s ok Marco just score a few goals and all is forgiven no let him rot in the reserves so he cannot showcase then let him go in the summer when nobody will want him.
How are you going to let him go in the summer if nobody wants him? Just cancel his contract? Word of advice, don’t go into business!
Hammer56 that is called cutting off your nose to spite your face. We do not make use of a top class player just because he was tempted to move? We reduce his value so that nobody will want him? Which means they won’t pay us for him? No,it’s time to accept the modern game as it is, for all its faults. He or his brother thought they were making use of us-giving him a platform to raise his value. Now we make use of him. Cheer him on to score the goals that get us up the table & which brighten up our weekend. Then he goes in the summer for a bit of cash to build the squad. Bish bosh.
I certainly agree with most of the comments above But…..i don’t think Hernandez and Perez have got their heart and soul in what we are trying to achieve at WHU, Mr Carroll might come good once his fitness levels are 100% so maybe in a few weeks time we may see the marauding player that he once was ..again we need to be carefull with Andy, as a player thats not 100% fit is more than likely to pick up more injuries which doesn’t help us 1 iota..plus we can get rid of him at the end of the season should we desire to…As for Arnie ..id say get rid asap as i cannot see why other pros will be left in the reserves for someone who clearly doesnt give a toss and surly cannot give 100% when we’re 2-0 down and chasing a game ..i mean what can the manager do if he’s not willing to chase every ball till the final whistle blows…. To wrap this up id say get rid of them all and replace, we’re in a pretty safe position atm and if changes are to be made then now is as good as time as ever , so long as we are not held to ransome by incoming player demands and hugely inflated transfer prices ..
Yes Hammer56, I agree with you, this bloke has stepped way over the line of tolerance from the fans. All that crossed hammer stuff, patting of the badge and saluting the fans after every game has proved to be a load of insincere, egotistical b******s. He hinted a while back that he couldn’t rule out a move.
In an ideal world I too would love to see him rot in the reserves but it just doesn’t work like that, these ars*****s always get their way.
The long term problem is that fans will stay away from football, I know a few who never came back after the Payet fiasco.
Carroll isn’t match fit yet after so many injuries ,, his technique and touch will return with more game time . His comittment cannot be questioned ,, whereas the commitment of a certain somebody else can be . Players miss seemingly easy chances to score every day in the league ( Anautovic included) but that’s football . Time to stop passing the magnifying glass over Carroll . We into the break 0 0 . Shouldn’t we be looking at the defense as well .?
If we want to blame anyone it has to be The Austrian who left us in the mire .
An interesting article in The Conversation about the ins-and-outs of the Chinese football dream.
https://theconversation.com/why-the-era-of-chinese-football-clubs-splashing-big-money-on-international-stars-is-over-110112?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1547826273
Carroll looked awful yesterday , I don’t think he will earn a new contract playing like that. He’s not mobile or quick enough for pellegrini. Sell him & Perez andgeta decent striker .Arnie well he either gets his head down or plays in the reserves not having that ego crap . COYI
I agree Hammer64. As in all walks of life he needs to do the job he is paid for. Get him back in the team score some goals and when its time…….. goodbye! West Ham will survive long after he’s forgotten.
Carroll has stayed loyal to us while all the other strikers for years have either not been good enough or have wanted more money or a transfer at the first opportunity. So I’m still hopeful he can return to be the player he was. It’s obvious at the moment he is not the player he was. Is he over the hill? Have the years of injuries finally caught up with him? Is he still running around only because his body is being held together by nuts and bolts? Who knows, but I’d rather see Carroll up at the moment than any of the other strikers, all of whom strike me as no different to all the other striker mercenaries we’ve signed over the last several years.
Stayed loyal??
I think the reason he’s still with us is there aren’t any mugs out there willing to spend 90 bags a week on a player who is crocked at least 50% of the season.
The good thing about the Arnie situation from the owners point of view is that nobody is going to be particularly bothered now if Arnoutavic gets sold. So make it known to the footballing world that Arnie is available for transfer to the highest bidder and get him sold.