West Ham United allegedly tried to re-sign Marko Arnautovic last summer according to the Austrian attacker’s agent.
The 33-year-old forward ended up joining Italian side Bologna from Shanghai SIPG in the summer of 2021.
Read also: Report: West Ham make enquiry for left-back, he’s £30m Hammers bound ace’s teammate
Arnie has been a huge hit in Serie A.
Arnautovic bagged 15 goals and one assist in 34 games for Bologna (Transfermarkt).
It does feel like David Moyes should have brought him back to the London Stadium last summer. He would have provided fantastic competition and cover for Michail Antonio.
Tutto Mercato Web, ExWHUemployee and talkSPORT transfer expert Alex Crook all claimed that the 33-year-old was on the Hammers’ radar ahead of last summer’s transfer window.
And it seems as though there was definitely some truth to those claims…
West Ham tried to re-sign Mark Arnautovic
He is far from popular in East London after the way that he angled for a move away from the Hammers before his eventual exit just under three years ago.
The 87-capped Austria international left the London Stadium to join Shanghai SIPG, now known as Shanghai Port, in July 2019. The striker earned an incredible £200k-a-week in China (Daily Mirror).
The Austrian was sold for around £22 million (The Mirror).
He didn’t last long in China though and joined Bologna last summer.
One of Arnautovic’s representatives Tiziano Pasquali suggested that West Ham wanted to sign him as well but eventually missed out to the Italian side, when speaking to TuttoBolognaWeb:
“Has anyone called me? No, and I was surprised. Before we closed with Bologna, West Ham had called us, and now some of the most important clubs in Europe are asking about him.“
Arnautovic proved last season with Bologna that he is still very capable at the very highest level.
And he would undoubtedly have been good enough to make a difference for West Ham.
As touched upon earlier though, Marko Arnautovic certainly wouldn’t have been welcomed back with open arms by every single West Ham fan, that’s for sure!
Read also:
Report: West Ham now plan blockbuster transfer for ‘astonishing’ France int’l attacker
Opinion: West Ham absolutely must sell 50-capped international this summer
Report claims Belgium international left-footer wants to join West Ham this summer
27-year-old World Cup winner West Ham want to sign is now available on a free transfer