Marko Arnautovic is reportedly (as per the Sun) desperate to leave West Ham but Manuel Pellegrini insists he won’t be sold unless the right offer arrives.

Arnautovic has been courted by a Chinese side, believed to be Shanghai SIPG, who are offering the former Stoke winger £200,000-per-week on a four-year deal which West Ham are unwilling to match. However, the Hammers aren’t willing to lose their star player for the £35m that has been offered. Pellegrini did admit that the forward could leave the club if an offer that satisfied all parties arrived.

The Chilean is vastly experienced and knows what keeping an unhappy player at the club could do the dressing role morale at the London Stadium. Losing Arnautovic would be a blow but the 29-year-old isn’t irreplaceable. The windfall from his transfer would give West Ham plenty of options when searching for his replacement.

The player who should be top of Pellegrini’s shortlist is Celta Vigo hitman – Maximiliano Gomez. Valued at £31.5m by Transfermarkt, the 22-year-old has been one of the deadliest strikers in La Liga in recent seasons, thriving alongside Iago Aspas in the Celta attack. Gomez ended his debut season in Spain with a remarkable 17 league goals.

Eager to prove he was not a one-season wonder, the youngster has been in fine form yet again, finding the back of the net nine times already in the league. Not only does Gomez excel at scoring goals, but he also leads the line brilliantly, helping create chances for his team-mates; the forward already has five assists to his name this season. A strong, intelligent and powerful forward – Gomez has all the attributes to be a massive success in the Premier League.

With the creative influence of Felipe Anderson alongside him, the forward’s abilities would be elevated further – Hammers fans would quickly forget all about Arnautovic if Pellegrini could lure the starlet to England.

West Ham fans, thoughts?