Stoke City seem to be in a bit of trouble in the ongoing transfer window. Although it’s still early days in the window, they have only signed Darren Fletcher and have let go of Jon Walters and Shay Given. While the outgoing transfers won’t really worry the fans, it’s the lack of incomings that’ll rankle.
The latest news, according to reports from talkSPORT is that attacker Marko Arnautovic has handed in a transfer request after West Ham United have identified the Austrian a potential target.
The Hammers, who themselves flattered to deceive last season, are expected to be busy in the transfer window. Last summer wasn’t as productive as the one before that as the likes of Simone Zaza, Jonathan Calleri, Andre Ayew and Sofiane Feghouli failed to hit the ground running like Manuel Lanzini and Dimitri Payet had done before.
Stoke recently tied the maverick Arnautovic to a new contract last summer and are likely to sell him for a good fee. Considering he is 28 years of age, he could turn out to be a decent addition, although he is incredibly inconsistent.
On his day, the Arnautovic can fool even the best of defenders, but those days are rare.
Should Stoke actually consider selling?
It might seem odd, but perhaps yes. They will most likely get at least 25 million pounds for the Austrian, which is good enough to buy a better winger. Though he has spent some time under Mark Hughes, his lean patches of form have come at the wrong time and his temperament has been questioned a few times as well.
Stoke also have a talented Ramadan Sobhi, who could have a breakthrough season next time if chiseled well by Hughes.
With a lot of time still left, it’s not as if they’ll have to scamper to sign an alternative for Arnautovic.
