Stoke City’s Austrian international forward Marko Arnautovic has handed in a transfer request and is wanting to leave after becoming disillusioned with, what he feels is, a lack of ambition from the Midlands club.
Arnautovic signed a four-year contract last summer, but after their 13th placed finish in the Premier League last season, Arnautovic, 28, feels Stoke are falling away from the teams at the top of the division, rather than closing the gap.
With the prices in transfer market currently inflated, Stoke may well believe they can get a very good price for one of their talisman so may well be tempted to accept the request. They have already turned down a reported £15 million bid from West Ham United, but the Hammers are currently the only club showing any interest in Arnautovic.
Stoke are currently in Switzerland, and Arnautovic featured in their 1-0 win over Swiss side Neuchatel Xamax, but it seems very likely that that will be the last time Arnautovic is seen in a Stoke shirt, but whether he will stay in England depends very much on who will come in for him.
Elsewhere at the Brittania Stadium, Stoke continue to chase Manchester City midfielder Fabian Delph, whilst Glenn Whelan will likely take a drop down to the Championship to find first team football after being told he can leave the Club, although Burnley could hand him a Premier League lifeline
Marko Arnautovic – 2016/17 key stats :
- League appearances : 31 (all for Stoke City)
- Goals : 6
- Assists : 7
- Yellow Cards : 9
- Red Cards : 1
- Shooting Accuracy : 44%
