West Ham table second bid for £75,000-a-week attacker, player keen on London move – report
By Danny Wright
West Ham have tabled a second bid worth £20million for attacker Marko Arnautovic but have seen it rejected by Stoke, according to a report.
The Telegraph claims that the Potters have turned down the offer despite the 28-year-old handing in a transfer request as he remains keen on a move to London.
The Telegraph’s Midlands correspondent John Percy claimed on his personal Twitter account on Monday that the first offer the Irons had rejected was worth £15million.
The latest report says that Stoke are still expecting West Ham to lodge a third bid for the wantaway Austrian international, but it is understood the east London club will have to pay a ” substantial fee” to convince Mark Hughes to lose one of his more influential players.
It is said that Arnautovic still has three years left on his £75,000-a-week contract at the Bet365 Stadium.
The Austrian attacker, who can play on both wings or as a striker, was in good form for Stoke last season, scoring seven goals and supplying six assists in 35 appearances across all competitions.
He moved to the Staffordshire club from Werder Bremen in 2013 and has also gone through spells with Rapid Wien, Twente and Inter Milan.
Football Insider Verdict
The prices that Stoke are willing to demand for Arnautovic prove that the transfer sums being paid are getting higher and higher. A few years ago, there’s no way that anyone would have dreamed of spending more than £20million on the Austrian, but the Hammers are desperate to bolster their attacking options ahead of next season, and Stoke see that as an opportunity to cash in. Arnautovic is an improvement on the wide attackers that Slaven Bilic already has. Andre Ayew, Robert Snodgrass and Sofiane Feghouli were all underwhelming in their debut seasons at the London Stadium, and Arnautovic is already proven in the Premier League. He’d be a good buy but it looks like a huge dent will be made in Bilic’s transfer budget.
In other West Ham news, the Hammers are favourites to sign this two-times Premier League winner this summer.
We’ve launched a << BREAKING NEWS FEED>> exclusively for your club. ‘Like Us’ on Facebook by clicking here if you want 24/7 updates on all West Ham breaking news.