Why West Ham should replace Marko Arnoutovic with Andrea Belotti
With 7 goals and 2 assists for West Ham this season, Marko Arnoutovic’s future at the Olympic stadium was always going to be uncertain. With massive interest from China for Arnautovic, West Ham need a replacement and Torino forward Andrea Belotti could be the answer.
With identical stats of goals and assists to West Ham’s Austrian forward this season, Andrea Belotti has been Torino’s main man. The Italian rose to the spotlight in the 2016/17 season when he scored 26 times for the Maroons while bagging 7 assists. He made his international debut in September 2016 and has since played 20 games for the Azzurri, bagging 5 goals in the process.
With 3.4 shots per game and an incredible 4.2 successful aerial duels won per game, Belotti’s stats are superior to that of Arnoutovic’s. Still only 25, the Italian can improve a lot in the Premier League and Manuel Pellegrini could take him to the next level.
With the likes of in-form Felipe Anderson and Samir Nasri feeding Andrea Belotti, the Italian is certain to thrive for the East Londoners. His versatility of playing as the lone striker, as a second striker or even as an attacking midfielder would give Pellegrini a lot of flexibility in the attack and he is the one who West Ham should look at either to replace Arnautovic with.
Although the Hammers will have to spend big to acquire the forward’s signature, Belotti will be worth the big bucks and the club will get a better return on their investment if he decides to move on down the lane.
According to the Sky Sports, West Ham have received a bid of £35million from an unnamed Chinese club for Arnautovic but they are holding out for £50million after having told the striker that he can leave if the price is met. The ridiculous wages offered by Chinese clubs to other players like Carlos Tevez, Hulk and Lavezzi among others is tempting for any footballer and Arnoutavic isn’t any different.
Andrea Belotti has a €100million release clause and according to Football Italia, a bid of €40million from West Ham was rejected. The same was confirmed by Torino sporting director Gianluca Petrachi and he was adamant that the Italian will be staying in the Serie A for the rest of the season.
Losing Arnoutovic this month will be a massive blow for the Hammers but signing Andrea Belotti will certainly soften the blow. However, the Hammers will have to break their bank to land the Italian before Thursday’s transfer deadline.
