West Ham transfer news: Marko Arnautovic China bid nothing more than ‘rumours’ says Manuel Pellegrini

Arnautovic was reportedly the subject of a £35m bid from a Chinese club

Thursday 10 January 2019 15:07 GMT

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January transfer window 2019: Premier League transfer round-up

Manuel Pellegrini has dismissed reports surrounding Marko Arnautovic’s future at West Ham as nothing more than speculation.

Arnautovic, who is contracted until 2022, was reportedly the subject of a £35m bid from an unnamed club in China, but West Ham are determined to keep hold of their talisman.

Pellegrini spent heavily in summer on high-profile players as West Ham continue to chase high ambitions and they will not want to be seen as a club that sells its best players by letting Arnautovic go.

Arnautovic has been the subject of frequent transfer speculation since his move to east London from Stoke, but the latest rumours, a bid from China, are just that says Pellegrini.

“Those are all rumours. We know that we have a very good player in Marko, a lot of clubs may want him to play for them,” he said. “At the moment we have no news about him.”

Ten players who need to move clubs this January

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1/12Ten players who need to move clubs this January

Ten players who need to move clubs this January

Ten players who need to move clubs this January

Despite the 2019 January transfer window being just a few days old, some clubs have already made their move, most noticeably at Chelsea who have agreed to bring in Borussia Dortmund’s Christian Pulisic in the summer. However, while some are highly coveted, others are in need of change of landscape and increased playing time, with a busy window expected yet again for Premier League clubs. With that in mind, here are 10 players who could really benefit from a move away from their current clubs in a bid to revive their season.

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Ten players who need to move clubs this January

Alvaro Morata

The Chelsea forward has endured a torrid time with the FA Cup holders this season, bagging just seven goals in 23 appearances in all competitions. The Spaniard has looked ineffective in Maurizio Sarri’s system in a poor run of form which began last season and saw him left out of Spain’s World Cup squad. A switch to Juventus involving Gonzalo Higuain going the other way has been touted, but complications could arise with the Argentine currently on loan at AC Milan.

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Ten players who need to move clubs this January

Matteo Darmian

The right-back has become a forgotten man at Manchester United, having seen just 360 minutes of competitive action this season. The 29-year-old, who featured only 17 times for the Red Devils last season, made no secret of his desire to leave Old Trafford in the summer, with Juventus having shown a strong interest in him during the last two transfer windows. However, with the Turin club having signed Joao Cancelo in the summer, the Italian will likely have to look for another escape route.

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Ten players who need to move clubs this January

Fernando Llorente

The Spaniard has been sparingly used by Mauricio Pochettino from the bench, and therefore a change of club may benefit the 33-year-old as he comes into the twilight of his career. The former Swansea City and Juventus striker has managed just one goal this season in a 3-1 League Cup win over West Ham United. That strike was one of just six he has notched up during his 18 months in North London, and that figure could see him eye up a return to Spain, with Valencia and Athletic Bilbao reportedly interested.

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Ten players who need to move clubs this January

Danny Drinkwater

The former Leicester City midfielder is in desperate need of a change of scenery after playing just 30 minutes under Maurizio Sarri, which came in the Community Shield back in August. The 28-year-old made just 22 appearances last season with Antonio Conte at the helm, but has been completely put out of the picture by the former Napoli boss. Drinkwater could seek an exit to Fulham and a reunion with Claudio Ranieri, who is still searching for a clever passer in his midfield following Jean Michael Seri’s indifferent start to life in west London and Kevin McDonald’s struggles in adapting to the pace of the Premier League.

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Ten players who need to move clubs this January

Morgan Schneiderlin

The Frenchman supposedly started with a clean slate when Marco Silva took over at Everton last May, and that was confirmed when he started four of the Toffees’ first five games of the league season. However, similar to what he faced at Old Trafford under Jose Mourinho, the 29-year-old has been frozen out of the picture, having not featured in the Premier League since September against West Ham. The midfielder has also had issues with teammates and booing supporters during his time on Merseyside, and this window represents the perfect opportunity for Schneiderlin to end his nightmare.

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Ten players who need to move clubs this January

Callum Wilson

Wilson has undoubtedly emerged as Bournemouth star player this season, scoring 11 goals for his club already this season in a run which also saw him mark his England debut in November with a goal against the United States. Despite the 26-year-old forward’s impressive tally, Bournemouth lie in the bottom half of the table and the opportunity to join a Chelsea side crying out for a centre forward may be too good to turn down.

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Ten players who need to move clubs this January

Alberto Moreno

Moreno arrived at Liverpool in 2014 with an ever-growing reputation, but the Spaniard has never recovered from the shaky start he made to life at Anfield despite his popularity among his teammates. The left-back is out of contract in the summer, and with no plans to extend his contract after making comments appearing to criticise Jurgen Klopp, Moreno could seek a move back to Sevilla, while Ligue 1 side Marseille are also said to be among potential suitors.

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Ten players who need to move clubs this January

Reece Oxford

The 20-year-old has fallen out of a favour at West Ham under Manuel Pellegrini, and he has not featured for the senior side for 12 months now. The defender made his Hammers debut aged 16 in a 2-0 win at Arsenal but spent last season on loan at Borussia Monchengladbach. The German club are consequently said to have made overtures to bring the defender back to the club on a permanent basis, while Arsenal have also been credited with an interest of recruiting him in the summer.

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Ten players who need to move clubs this January

Carl Jenkinson

The Arsenal right-back’s competitive action has been limited to the Europa League group games and the early rounds of the EFL Cup. The 26-year-old has spent time on loan at West Ham United and Birmingham City in recent seasons which both proved to be largely unsuccessful due to both injuries and form. Unai Emery’s preference of putting central midfielder Ainsley Maitland-Niles at right-back during Arsenal’s recent defensive crisis is just the latest in a sequence of decisions which have ensured the writing has long been on the wall for Jenkinson.

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Ten players who need to move clubs this January

Callum Paterson

The converted forward has been a considerable factor in keeping Cardiff City’s hopes of avoiding relegation alive with his four league goals this season. The 24-year-old has spent the majority of his career as a full-back and midfielder, but has been made to lead the Bluebirds’ line to solve their striking crisis. While he may not prove to be the most effective lone forward, there could be a role for the Scot as a supporting striker for a club looking to push into the top half of the table.

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Ten players who need to move clubs this January

Denis Suarez

The Barcelona midfielder has played just 17 minutes in La Liga this season and seems to no longer represent the club’s future. Arthur and Ivan Rakitic have largely been the duo utilised by Ernesto Valverde, with the likes of Arturo Vidal and Rafinha also having struggled for game time at various points this campaign. Chelsea and Arsenal are both said to have an interest in 24-year-old Suarez, who has completed 90 minutes just twice this season in the Catalan giants’ two-legged Copa del Rey tie with Cultural Leonesa.

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West Ham host Arsenal in the Premier League on Saturday and Pellegrini believes his star player is in the right frame of mind to perform at his best against Unai Emery’s side and did not want to discuss the issue at great length.

“I think Marko and all the other players involved in rumours have their heads here and want to continue playing the way they are doing so far. He will have his head in the right place for the game against Arsenal,” Pellegrini said in his pre-match press conference.

"I don't want to talk about things that might happen. Marko in this moment is a player of our team, players of his quality and other players like Declan Rice, Felipe Anderson, other clubs will want them but that is one thing. I don't think they will go."

Arnautovivc has made his desire to compete at the top level clear as the 29-year-old enjoys the peak of his playing career, once saying he wants to “compete with the best players”.

West Ham are determined to keep their talisman (Getty)

His agent, and brother, Danijel Arnautovic, said in November that Marko is ready for the next step and that playing for West Ham “cannot be the end”.

“He’s already playing in the Premier League and that’s where the best players are. But for a player like Marko this cannot be the end,” said Danijel Arnautovic.

“He’s a big part of West Ham’s team but I think it’s possible to tease out more of him. For that to happen, he has to play for a top team. Marko is ready for the next step. A player like him should not play against relegation. He should play for the international spots.

“Marko is really enjoying playing for West Ham. He loves that club and the fans. But there is still that feeling, that this cannot be the end. And everybody should understand that.”

Marko Arnautovic has scored eight times this season (Getty)

Asked if Arnautovic could leave West Ham in January, his brother Danijel replied: “That’s possible. It was already very, very close this last summer.”

Danijel negotiated Marko’s £25m move from Stoke to West Ham and the forward said “I totally trust my brother” when it comes to his future.

With Javier Hernandez a transfer target for Valencia, who have just terminated Michy Batshuayi’s loan deal, and Andy Carroll fighting to renew his contract that expires at the end of the season, West Ham will be reluctant to let another forward leave.

West Ham will be also be aware of the backlash that can be caused by selling a player such was the reaction to the departure of Dimitri Payet and will be wary of Arnautovic’s personal intentions.

Pellegrini’s side were beaten by Arsenal 3-1 at the Emirates in August after defeats against Bournemouth and Liverpool and Pellegrini believes a lot has changes since that early season match.

“We have had four months more working. It was not a bad game last time against Arsenal, we had lots of chances to score but we lost the game with an own goal but after that work hard and the team has improved in every sense.

“When you play with 60,000 people behind you, you are a big club. As a team we need to work better than we did in the first half of the season and the way to see that is against these big teams.”

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