West Ham United are expected to complete a £24 million deal to sign Marko Arnautovic from Stoke City and Kevin Nolan thinks he knows why.
The Hammers have agreed the record deal at the third time of asking having had two previous bids rejected by the Potters, as reported by the likes of Sky Sports.
Slaven Bilic made the 28-year-old one of his main targets and his profile fits with the club’s current policy to add proven Premier League players to their team.
Arnautovic reportedly handed in a transfer request after becoming disillusioned with life at the Bet365 Stadium, as reported by Sky Sports.
Marko Arnautovic
Stoke boss Mark Hughes has since urged Arnautovic to stay and ‘appreciate what he has’ at his current employers.
But it looks as though Bilic will get a player he was eager to recruit and former Hammers skipper Kevin Nolan told talkSPORT he thinks he knows why.
“I think they’re just looking for that hero again because they’ve lost Dimi (Payet),” Nolan told Jim White on talkSPORT.
“They’re looking for that sort of maverick.
“And I think that’s what Slav has looked at in trying to bring Arnautovic in because I thought they had an indifferent season last year but did well to get through it.”
In truth West Ham have not been the same side since Dimitri Payet forced through a return to Marseille back in January.
In many respects Bilic’s side became more of a team after their star man departed but there is no question they missed the Frenchman’s magic touch, no matter how good Manuel Lanzini is for them.
Arnautovic, on his day, has the talent to replace Payet and he is at the right age and is seemingly ambitious and hungry to play for the East Londoners.
Slaven Bilic waved goodbye to Dimitri Payet back in January
If West Ham get the kind of performances he has turned in on his good days at Stoke, the Austrian could prove to be one of the most inspired pieces of business for a long time.
And West Ham is a club that loves a maverick as Nolan suggests with the likes of Paolo Di Canio the biggest case in point.
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