Marko Arnautovic looked set to move to China in January after he told West Ham he wanted a move away from the London Stadium.
But after The Telegraph reported a £35 million bid had been rejected by West Ham from Chinese Super League side Shanghai SiPG, Arnautovic remained at the club for the rest of the season.
And Arnautovic did not seem the same player immediately after deciding to stay in London.
He did not score another goal for the club until the penultimate day of the season, when he scored twice against Southampton.
The Austrian then followed that up with another goal in the final game against Watford to take his tally to 11 for the season – but all his end-of-season floury did in the eyes of many Hammers fans was remind them just how much he went missing for several months.
It still seems as thought his attitude is not conducive to performing consistently for a team which hopes to push into the top echelon of clubs in England.
He was very much a fan favourite before the deal with China was seemingly inevitable, a move which angered many West Ham supporters.
Arnautovic is an extremely talented player, but West Ham should not be held to ransom by him because the likes of Felipe Anderson and Michail Antonio have proven they can step up and fill his boots if needs be.
In addition, if you look at the top six in England, a player with the wrong mentality or work ethic at the very top level can be problematic to the whole team.
The power struggle at Manchester United between Jose Mourinho and Paul Pogba was an example of a player being accused of not putting in 100% and it negatively affecting the club.
Another example is Mesut Ozil, who is on a big wage at Arsenal yet is continually in and out of Unai Emre’s side and seemingly unsettling the dynamic at the Emirates.
Players like Arnautovic, Pogba, Ozil, they are very talented but can be incredibly divisive figures when a club is challenging at the top end of the table – as West Ham hope to be – because they tend to only turn up when they fancy it.
If Pellegrini hopes to build a strong team unity at West Ham which pushes them on to try and break down the stranglehold of the top six then Arnautovic must be one of the first sacrifices he makes.
He is simply not worth the trouble.
