West Ham have decided against re-signing Marko Arnautovic after the Austrian was offered a chance to go back to the Hammers, as reported by the Daily Mail.
The report cited the player’s astronomical £5.1m-a-year wages at Shanghai SIPG as the main reason behind the Irons declining the 31-year-old. However, after his acrimonious departure from east London in 2019, it could be argued there are other reasons not to bring him back.
Arnautovic joined the Hammers in the summer of 2017, scoring 22 times in 65 appearances in claret and blue and being named Hammer of the Year in his first season at the club.
However, the Austrian also had his less than cerebral moments in east London. In his first spell as Irons manager, Moyes admonished the forward for not being a team player and threatened to drop him. He was also prone to inexcusable moments of on-field indiscipline and unsubtly pined to leave the club on more than one occasion prior to his departure for China 18 months ago.
Now it seems Moyes has rejected the chance to bring the maverick Arnautovic back to the London Stadium.
READ WEST HAM VERDICT
It seems a wise move from West Ham to not bring back the proverbial bad apple. Although it was the player’s brother and agent who was at the forefront of the ill-feeling, the Hammers are on a good thing of late under Moyes and it seems a much too risky move to risk upsetting the applecart with the undoubtedly talented but enigmatic Austrian.
Whilst we believe a centre-forward is a must-buy this January for West Ham, bringing back a veteran former player who left on such bad terms is not the answer.
