West Ham looking to re-sign Marko Arnautovic? Nah, you're alright thanks

It's ironic that as England revisits old ground and enters 2021 with a brand spanking new lockdown, I find myself sat in the same place as I was ten months ago ready to write about Marko Arnautovic.

It was March last year when my keyboard was last dusted off to cover the Austrian's adventures in China, as it became apparent that there would be little else to write about as the global footballing calendar ground to a halt because of coronavirus.

Fortunately, elite sport will be continuing in this shiny new extended period of nothingness, but such is the way of the world, Arnautovic has still found a way to bustle back into my life, despite being thousands of miles away, out of sight and out of mind.

How he's managed to do it, I'm not quite sure.

But what I do know is that, extraordinarily, there are suggestions that West Ham manager David Moyes, who is doing a bloody fine job by the way, could look to reunite with his old charge and bring the 31-year-old back from his Asian adventures during the January transfer window.

Sky Sports suggest that Shanghai SIPG, the Chinese Super League behemoths who dangled the money carrot in front of Arnautovic in 2019, have actually offered West Ham the chance to re-sign him, although a deal isn't likely at this stage because of the outrageously high wages Shanghai decided to fling his way.

Admittedly, the Hammers do need another striker. Michail Antonio is shiny, wonderful and ticks all the boxes of a Moyes striker, but has been troubled with various hamstring issues, while Sebastien Haller, his £45m understudy, is really struggling to make his mark in English football - so much so that after just 18 months, he's fighting for his career in east London.

Outside of those two, Moyes' pickings are slim. There is highly-rated teenage prodigy Miko Odupeko waiting in the wings, but it's difficult to see him being thrust into the limelight, particularly as he's not been playing an awful lot of reserve and youth level football because of injury. Jarrod Bowen can also play there, if push comes to shove, but he's far better suited to charging up and down the right wing.

All of that would suggest that the idea of re-signing Arnautovic isn't so crazy, after all. But in reality, for all of the good he did at the club, it's a prospect so underwhelming that the re-election of the Conservative government actually appeals a whole lot more (it doesn't, but you get the gist).

Arnautovic is a man, after all, who made my blood pressure - and many other West Ham supporters' - rise exponentially because he could either be bloody brilliant or shockingly sh*t, directly causing my hair to fall out at an even greater rate than genetics had originally intended.

He's also a man who played well for a little while, got a bit big for his boots, fancied a move elsewhere, allowed his brother to do a bit of mouthing off in the press, changed his tune so he could sign a new and improved contract at West Ham, before performing yet another U-turn to force himself out of the club for an even bigger payday and an 'adventure' in China.

Is this really a character we want back at the club? I don't speak for everybody of a West Ham persuasion, but I do speak for myself; absolute 100% no way, not a chance.

The culture at West Ham has improved ten-fold since Moyes was re-appointed as manager, bringing a unity and collectiveness among the players. The 11 on the field now play for each other and not just themselves, and the likes of Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal have brought humility and vibrancy to the dressing room. Self-serving egotism is no longer a thing, instead pulling together for the good of the team is front and centre.

Bringing back Arnautovic wouldn't just undermine all of the hard work that has gone in to getting West Ham to where they are, it would likely tear it all to shreds. Having another pressing forward with the ability of Antonio would be lovely, but this isn't the way to go.

Arnautovic was fantastic once upon a time, but he's West Ham and Moyes' past - let's hope that wages aren't the only stumbling block in preventing a London Stadium return from happening.

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