Twenty four hours on and I am still trying to make sense of Marko Arnautovic’s apparent change of heart and commitment to the Hammers.
Just what is the real story behind his statement of Hammers love and loyalty.
Days ago the club were bracing themselves for a further bid from China with a minimum valuation set at £45m before Pellegrini would sanction a move.
So the 29-year-old’s Instagram statement yesterday evening is bizarre, to say the least, and his claim to want to to end the speculation is ironic given it was his brother who started it with his constant leaks and statement to Talksport.
Some have suggested a secret deal could have been done between the club and player either promising or guaranteeing a move this summer and/or financial incentives to perform between now and the end of the season.
We may never know the real truth behind such rumours but something shifted in a big way yesterday with club insiders confirming something had ‘significantly changed’ and that ‘all would become clear within 24 hours’
Maxi Gomez appears to be Pellegrini’s number one target but his club say they won’t release him until the summer. Are the two things connected?
There are new reports West Ham could seal the deal for Gomez this window but loan him back to Celta Vigo until the Summer.
It is difficult to second guess all these permutations. It seems, however, that the Arnautovic brothers have had some sort of result after missing last and this week’s matches accompanied by a long training ground face and the boss being reported as not too happy.
In hindsight, all we heard from other people – his brother/agent, his missus via Twitter and the club.
Don’t recall hearing anything from Arnie until the Instagram statement. There’s obviously a deal done or promised round the end of the season and Gomez, but I’d be happy to see him stay and play for as a long as he’s productive.
May be you are overthinking the problem, Sean.
As far as I am concerned, the weekend has become a whole lot better now that Arnautovic has decided to stay. I have never had any issue with Arnie’s performance on the field ever since Moyes started playing him as a centre forward. A long contract and £90,000/week does not buy you loyalty – it buys performance (if you’re lucky). As long as Arnie continues to put in a shift and keeps us entertain for as long as he remains a West Ham player, I am happy.
West Ham’s interest in Maxi Gomez goes beyond the Arnie situation. None of our other forwards, Hernandez, Perez and Carroll are anywhere near satisfactory and reports suggest that Hernandez has wanted to leave. Gomez is more likely an addition to Arnie rather than a replacement.
I’m now really looking forward to the games against Wolves and Liverpool with Arnie in the team.
More money, with the promise of a move at seasons end should a suitable bid come in would be my guess.
I very much agree with the previous posts.
I found it difficult to see the move to China as a football issue. To me he won the lottery and decided he could retire from competitive football. Then he lost the ticket (the Chinese didn’t want to pay the money), so he’s decided to go back to work. He’s an emotional bloke, but I think he’s professional enough to go back to doing what he does best. I think it speaks volumes about how our club has progressed, as no one seemed to be in a major panic about losing our most effective striker.
Anyway, it’s not as though he wanted to move to the London Borough of Haringey.
I suspect as most seem to that the end of the season he will be off, hopefully he goes full gas between now and then and scores a load of goals, he is that sort of player that is capable of turning it on for extended periods and if he feels motivated to do so then lets see. Its possible they offered him a bonus to fire us into the European places ?