Sold for £23m, now worth 5x less: West Ham played a blinder with "heated" 32 y/o flop - opinion

It’s fair to speculate that the majority of the West Ham United fanbase were disheartened when forward Marko Arnautovic reportedly handed in a transfer request in the summer of 2019.

The Austrian ended up switching England for China by joining Shanghai SIPG for a fee believed to be around £23m, having joined the Hammers two summers prior from Stoke City for £20m.

During his stint at the London Stadium, the now 32-year-old was rather prolific, having scored 22 goals and registered 12 assists in 65 appearances, an average of a goal contribution every 1.9 appearances.

However, relations between the forward and the East London club deteriorated, particularly after Arnautovic submitted two transfer requests within the space of six months, with West Ham posting a very brief statement once his move to Shanghai had been confirmed.

The statement read: ‘West Ham United can confirm that Marko Arnautovic has joined Chinese Super League champions Shanghai SIPG for an undisclosed fee.

‘The 30-year-old Austrian departs after two seasons at London Stadium, during which he scored 22 goals in 65 appearances in Claret and Blue.’

Fast forward two-and-a-half years and, despite being paid close to £200k-per-week, the Austrian had mixed fortunes out in China.

In 39 appearances for Shanghai SIPG, the forward netted 20 times as well as contributing four assists, a slightly better average of one goal contribution every 1.6 games than Arnautovic’s rate at West Ham.

However, last summer the 32-year-old and the Chinese Super League outfit came to a mutual agreement regarding the termination of the Austrian’s contract, following events ironically similar to those that occurred in the latter stages of his West Ham tenure.

Source