West Ham plucks Arnautovic out of Stoke for club-record fee
West Ham announced Saturday the club has signed versatile attacker Marko Arnautovic from Stoke City, penning the Austria international to a five-year term in a club-record £25-million deal that starts at £20 million with £5 million in conditional add-ons.
Should Arnautovic reach those performance clauses, he would surpass the £20.5-million fee paid for Andre Ayew last year, making him West Ham's most pricey player.
The 28-year-old is Slaven Bilic's third significant signing of the summer, joining Pablo Zabaleta and Joe Hart at the club. Javier Hernandez's move is also expected to be finalised imminently.
"It feels special to me to be a West Ham player," Arnautovic told the Hammers' official website. "Everyone knows that West Ham is a big club, with big history and I'm happy to be a part of it now. I can't wait to get started."
#WelcomeMarko pic.twitter.com/hbytCapBe2
— West Ham United (@WestHamUtd) July 22, 2017
Arnautovic makes the switch to the Hammers after reportedly handing in a transfer request just one year after signing a four-year extension with the Potters. West Ham previously lodged a pair of bids, both of which Stoke rejected, before finally closing the deal.
Arnautovic brings with him four years of Premier League experience, having made 145 total appearances for Stoke since 2013, scoring 26 goals.