Marko Arnautovic caused enough problems in January when the Austrian appeared to wave goodbye to West Ham with a move to China being widely reported, but the saga is not over as the Daily Mail are now reporting that he could look to force his exit in the summer.
Part of the problem for Arnautovic is said to be the stance taken by Manuel Pellegrini since the 29-year-old penned his contract extension, as the boss has continually kept our second top-goalscorer on the bench.
If he chooses to do so against Huddersfield at the weekend, it may well act as the final nail in the coffin for Arnautovic, as all the while he is kept on the bench he cannot trigger the lucrative incentives placed in the new deal.
As such, his mounting frustration is claimed to be edging the former Stoke winger towards forcing through his exit to the Chinese Super League, and leaving the club with no alternative but to accept whatever bid comes our way.
Any drama involving Arnautovic will be sure to rock West Ham, but we are still being linked with replacing the 77-cap international with Celta Vigo’s Maxi Gomez.
Missing out on the Uruguayan’s signature in January may have actually been a blessing in disguise, as well, as Celta have since fallen into the relegation zone and dropping out of La Liga would slash his €50million (£42.9m) release clause to €25m (£21.4m).
