West Ham forward Marko Arnautovic has dropped a bombshell ex by confirming he wants to leave the club to play Champions League football.
The Austrian joined the Hammers in a £25million deal from Stoke City in 2017 and Manchester United were interested in signing him last summer.
However, West Ham slapped a £50m price tag on him and United were unwilling to pay that much.
Arnautovic, though, fears his time at the top is running out and believes the time is right to move to a Champions League club.
‘I’m 29, so that’s the best age,’ Atnautovic told Austrian newspaper Kurier.
‘It’s clear that I want to compete with the best players. But in this affair I totally trust my brother.’
Jose Mourinho was keen on signing a back-up forward to Romelu Lukaku and the Belgian’s poor start to the season is only likely to have reinforced his desire to sign a new forward.
Arnautovic’s brother represents the Austrian and he confirmed that he was ‘very, very close’ to joining a Champions League club last summer.
‘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.”
‘That’s possible [he could leave]. It was already very, very close this last summer.
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‘There were two clubs playing Champions League this season . I can not reveal more. So there are options. And we are probing.’
