Report: Mourinho watches West Ham’s Marko Arnautovic in Austria game

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West Ham United may face a fight to hold onto top goalscorer Marko Arnautovic this summer.

According to a report from the Daily Mail, Jose Mourinho was in attendance as Marko Arnautovic helped Austria to a 1-0 win over Russia amid reports linking the West Ham talisman with a £30 million move to Manchester United this summer.

After a dreadful start to his London Stadium career, Arnautovic enjoyed one of the most dramatic turnarounds in Premier League history following David Moyes’ appointment. When the Scot arrived, the forward had not scored for the Hammers, but he ultimately finished the campaign with 11 league goals – at least three more than any of his teammates.

Arnautovic’s form was a key reason why West Ham stayed up this past season, and it appears that he is now attracting attention from elsewhere, with the Mail reporting that Mourinho is keen to take him to Old Trafford.

And it would appear that the Portuguese may already be stepping up his interest in the 29-year-old as the Mail adds that he attended Austria’s win over Russia ahead of the World Cup.

The Mail’s report does not suggest whether Arnautovic’s involvement inspired the trip or not, but it certainly does hint that Mourinho could be seriously weighing up a move for the striker that he briefly worked with at Inter Milan.

Losing Arnautovic would be a huge blow for West Ham given how influential he was once he found his feet with the Irons. If the club have a replacement lined up, then £30 million has to be considered a very tempting sum of money given his age and how his form was inspired under Moyes but horrific under Slaven Bilic.

But after struggling to cope for a long time without Dimitri Payet when he went off the boil and ultimately moved on, West Ham must realise that having Arnautovic’s replacement waiting in the wings has to be a must before they even consider a sale.