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According to BBC Sport, West Ham have received a £35m bid from an unnamed Chinese outfit for star man, Marko Arnautovic – big money from the East may be difficult for the Hammers to turn down, unless Crystal Palace do them a huge favour by signing fringe forward, Javier Hernandez.
What’s the word?
Well, BBC Sport reports that West Ham have no desire to sell the Austrian, although with the lack of depth in midfield surely a major concern for Manuel Pellegrini and nearly £100m spent on signings in the summer, they could do with recouping some funds this month.
The east London club signed Arnautovic from Stoke in 2017 for a fee of £20m, meaning that, should they accept the anonymous bidders’ offer, they would make quite a decent profit – although this would be misguided given that he is their joint-top scorer this season with eight.
Crystal Palace, meanwhile, could very much do with a striker of Arnautovic’s pedigree as, despite the frequency of chances created, they can rarely apply a finishing touch and find themselves in yet another relegation battle this season as a result – the Croydon outfit should swoop for Hernandez after missing out on Dominic Solanke.
Fox in the box
The Mexican, nicknamed Chicharito, is renowned for his excellence at finding space in the box and finishing expertly; in fact, all 49 of the striker’s Premier League goals have been from inside the 18-yard.
Palace already have plenty of flair and creation in the squad, with Max Meyer, Andros Townsend and Wilfried Zaha easily capable of working chances for themselves and others but, with Jordan Ayew their highest – and only – scoring hitman, they are in desperate need of someone who can simply put the ball away nine times out of ten.
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The 30-year-old has proved throughout his career that his finishing is strong – indeed, he has scored 199 career goals – and that should be enough for Roy Hodgson and co, however financial backing from the high-ups, or a lack thereof, could be a stumbling block in a switch to Selhurst Park for Hernandez.
West Ham are surely keen to get rid of one of their numerous striker options and, given his age and lack of importance to the team, Hernandez could be the value option for Palace.
What do you think though, Palace fans? Would you like to sign Javier Hernandez? Let us know by voting in the poll below…
