Ben Guest
Manuel Pellegrini has insisted that Marko Arnautovic is fully focussed on playing for West Ham United, despite the renewed interest him.
Arnautovic had a rocky start to life at West Ham following his £20m move from Stoke City in 2017 but has been a revelation since being switched to play in a more central role.
His form saw him linked with a move to Manchester United over the summer, with Jose Mourinho watching the Austrian in action on a number of occasions during his tenure at Old Trafford.
In the last days, the 29-year-old has been the subject of a £35 million bid from an unnamed Chinese club, a bid which was rejected by West Ham, who have no intention of selling their talisman in this current January transfer window.
As the Hammers prepare to face Arsenal this weekend, Manuel Pellegrini has insisted that Arnautovic is very much focussed on playing for the East London club:
“They are rumours. We know Marko is a very good player so maybe a lot of clubs will want him to play for their team but at the moment he is a West Ham player and we want to keep him,” the Chilean said in his pre-match press conference.
“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. I am sure his head will be in the game against Arsenal and it will not affect his performance.”