Antonio Reveals Arnautovic Wants To Leave West Ham

By Max Wise

Michail Antonio has revealed that West Ham United teammate Marko Arnautovic wants to leave the club.

An unnamed Chinese club, believed to be Shanghai SIPG, reportedly tabled a £35m offer for the Austrian last week, and he appeared to wave goodbye to the West Ham fans when he was substituted in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Arsenal at the London Stadium.

Arnautovic’s agent and brother, Danijel Arnautovic, revealed last week that his client wants West Ham to accept the offer.

Arnautovic,29, will reportedly earn £200,000 a week in China, double his current wages at the Hammers, and the offer is proving too tempting to turn down.

"Everyone knows Marko wants to go," Hammers forward Antonio said.

Speaking on Sky Sports' Goals on Sunday, he added: "He's massive for the club, the fans love him.

"Players come and go, we are used to it. Obviously I'd rather he stayed, he's a talisman for the club."

"In his life right now he feels it's another step for him and he's going to one of the best clubs over there and will be able to win some trophies," Antonio, 28, said.

"It's a difficult question. He's coming to the latter end of his career and he might feel that he needs a new step before he retires. This might be the step he wants.

"He is a great character, he's like a brother to me. If he goes he will be truly missed."

Arnautovic joined West Ham United from Stoke City for £20m in the summer of 2017 and was named as the club’s Player of the Season last year.

Alongside summer signing, Felipe Anderson, Arnautovic is West Ham’s joint top scorer in the current campaign with eight goals in all competitions.