West Ham have shown significant progress under the guidance of Manuel Pellegrini but there is a risk that things could fall apart if one particular proposed transfer goes ahead during the January window.
Star player Marko Arnautovic has attracted the attention of an unnamed Chinese club and, despite the Hammers insistence they will not part way with the Austria international, further reports indicate the player is keen on a move.
In quotes carried by TalkSport, Arnautovic’s agent Danijel Arnautovic stated that the 29-year-old former Stoke City man wants to force a move through to the Far East – which would be a major blow to West Ham and Pellegrini.
With Arnautovic having established himself as a fan favourite at the London Stadium, some fans have understandably suffered a case of deja vu as they think back to the circumstances that saw Dimitri Payet in 2017.
Many fans reacted angrily to the news and we have gathered some of their comments below.
https://twitter.com/WHUSouthWest/status/1083388554854756358
Going to be a long month with arnautovic… another payet inbound. Hopefully stays loyal but I'm fearing the worst. ⚒
— Ross Haynes ⚒ (@rossjhaynes) January 10, 2019
https://twitter.com/UberWestHam/status/1083394657999044609
https://twitter.com/louis_warwick/status/1083399388498673665
https://twitter.com/KieranIon27/status/1083443344448126976
Arnautovic out for £35m and Batshuayi in for £20m will do nicely #whufc #Arnautovic
— James (@jgparmenter) January 11, 2019
What annoys me the most about Arnautovic is the timing just like payet January why not wait until the summer this could possibly destroy the rest of our season #WHUFC
— AEveritt (@MrEveritt83) January 11, 2019
Previous article by Josh Challies
‘Maybe 5 years ago’: These West Ham fans discuss signing another Premier League winner