Marko Arnautovic completed a move to Chinese club Shanghai SIPG on Monday.
West Ham confirmed the Austrian’s exit on Twitter.
Marko Arnautovic departs.https://t.co/uX2IhifBBD
— West Ham United (@WestHamUtd) July 8, 2019
Shanghai SIPG were interested in signing Arnautovic back in January and offered West Ham £35m according to BBC Sport – a bid which Arnautovic wanted West Ham to accept. However, no deal materialised then and the striker eventually signed a contract extension at West Ham.
When interest from Shanghai SIPG returned this summer, Arnautovic told West Ham he wanted to leave the club and has now agreed to a contract that will see him earn £280,000 a week – £14.5m per year – according to the Daily Mail.
West Ham are already looking at replacements, with Celta Vigo striker Maxi Gomez on their radar according to The Mail. The 22-year old Uruguayan striker made 36 appearances for Celta Vigo last season, scoring 13 goals as the club finished 17th in the La Liga, just avoiding relegation.
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Gomez’s current contract at Celta Vigo expires in 2022 and has a buyout clause of £44.5m, as reported by The Mail, who say that West Ham are willing to pay Gomez’s buyout clause in installments.
If West Ham do manage to sign Gomez, he will be the club’s record signing.
West Ham’s current record signing is Felipe Anderson, whose transfer from Lazio last summer cost the Hammers an initial £33.5m which could rise to £42m, according to The Guardian.