Stoke City attacking force Marko Arnautovic is set to complete a transfer to Premier League side West Ham. Sky Sports is reporting that Arnautovic will be the second highest paid player, second to Javier Hernandez.
Slaven Bilic looks determined to improve the attacking abilities of his side for the upcoming season. Reports from Sky Sports state that Stoke City attacking force Marko Arnautovic is set to finalize a move to West Ham.
The reported fee for for Arnautovic is $32.5 million. A hefty fee, but it shows the clear intent of West Ham to improve their attacking abilities and push higher up the table next season.
Marko Arnautovic has passed his West Ham medical. Will sign contract tomorrow
— Kaveh Solhekol (@SkyKaveh) July 21, 2017
Arnautovic, 28, is a versatile attacking option that should compliment fellow West Ham new boy Javier Hernandez quite nicely. Arnautovic appeared in 32 matches for Stoke last season, starting every one of them. In this time he had six goals and five assists for The Potters.
Arnautovic also appeared twice in the League Cup for Stoke, scoring a single goal, as well as one appearance in the FA Cup. His form over the past three seasons for Stoke has turned him into a mainstay for the Austrian National Team.
In his three seasons with Stoke Arnautovic has made 95 times, scoring 18 goals and adding 16 assists during the time. And when taking into account that Stoke isn’t well-known for being a high-paced attacking side, it makes it all the more impressive.
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Arnautovic also averaged 1.6 key passes per match with Stoke last season. This number is good for a tie as the 19th-most among Premier League players. It’s also on par with other play makers like Liverpool’s Sadio Mane and new West Ham teammate Manuel Lanzini. For a West Ham side that only scored 47 goals last season, the addition of Arnautovic is going to be huge in improving their chances, and Bilic is hoping Hernandez will put them away.