Stoke use Jese Rodriguez unveiling to fire parting shot at Marko Arnautovic

Jese joins Mark Hughes’ side on loan from PSG and has been brought in to replace the Austrian who criticised the Potters on his departure from the club last month

The Spaniard joins on loan from PSG (AP)

Stoke have used the unveiling of new signing Jese Rodriguez to fire a parting shot at former striker Marko Arnautovic.

Jese joins Mark Hughes’ side on loan from PSG and has been brought in to replace the volatile Austrian who left the club last month after submitting a former transfer request.

Arnautovic's departure was far from amicable, though, with the forward publicly accusing his old club of a lack of ambition

“I wanted to join West Ham because for me it’s a bigger, more ambitious club,” he said upon arrival at the London Stadium.

But Stoke have hit back, using the announcement of Jese on Twitter to take a not-so-subtle dig at their former player.

After quoting an article with the headline "Marko Arnautovic: West Ham are a bigger, more ambitious club than Stoke", the Potters’ social media account went on to define the word 'ambition' before detailing Jese’s past clubs and honours, which include two Champions League titles.

The Spaniard follows Darren Fletcher, Kurt Zouma, Maxim Choupa-Moting, Bruno Martins Indi and Josh Tymon in checking-in at the bet365 Stadium this summer.

He spent nine seasons with Real Madrid, scoring 12 goals in 62 La Liga appearances, and was part of their Champions League winning squads in 2014 and 2016.

His progress was disrupted by a serious knee injury but last summer he completed a £22m switch to PSG.


 Jese in training at his former club 
 (Getty)

After struggling to make an impact in Paris, he spent the second half of last season back in La Liga on loan with Las Palmas.

Stoke chief executive Tony Scholes said: “Jesé was a man in demand when PSG made it clear they would allow him to leave on loan and we’re delighted he has chosen to join us.

“He hasn’t had the happiest of periods in his career in Paris but he’s still only a young man and is hungry to make a big impression in the Premier League.

"His pedigree speaks for itself and he will most certainly add to the firepower at our disposal.”