The Premier League champions have been struggling off late for goals and are now reported in a shock move to land West Ham ace Marko Arnautovic at Stamford Bridge to bolster their attacking options. With Chelsea club record signing Alvaro Morata struggling for form currently, the Blues manager Antonio Conte is reportedly ready to look into the market for another attacking player to ease the goal-scoring pressure on the Spanish forward. Belgian striker Michy Batshuayi is yet to impress Conte as a regular in the first team and therefore the Italian manager is looking for additional strikers to bring goals in the final third.
Having won the Premier League in his first season as Chelsea boss, Conte failed to sign top players in the summer transfer window last season to add reinforcements to bolster his squad. But now the former Juventus manager is keen on securing a target man for his side as a focal point to his attack. And since Austrian international Marko Arnautovic has been banging in goals for new side West Ham United over the past few months, Chelsea are looking to propose a deal with their London rivals.
Since David Moyes has taken over the job at West Ham, the Hammers have been doing exceedingly well than what they were before him under Slaven Bilic. After struggling in a relegation battle they now seem to be sitting comfortably in 11th position by putting in a good run of performances in the League. That is also mainly due to the change in the strike force after Arnautovic has been leading the line for West Ham.
In his last eight Premier League appearances, the former Werder Bremen winger has netted six times and notched up three assists after being moved to a center forward in Moyes’ side. And he is still just 28 and a huge threat in the air with his 6 feet 4 inch frame with a massive physical presence. The big attacker is also a fine crosser of the ball and has an absolutely lethal shot from free-kicks and long range, that makes him a perfect centre-forward. Arnautovic joined the Hammers on a five-year contract at the start of this season from Stoke City after a £20m move from the Potters.
And since Arnautovic has thrived in the centre forward position, Chelsea are now looking to make a move for him which could probably be done this month itself. The Blues will be looking to bring in Arnautovic as quickly as possible as they are still in contention for the domestic trophies and the Champions League. But if the big Austrian is brought at Stamford Bridge it could spell the end of the road for Belgian forward Michy Batshuayi.
But will David Moyes be willing to sell such a valuable asset to his side to direct local rivals? It’s highly unlikely. But Chelsea is keeping their options open after being interested in AS Roma forward Edin Dzeko as well as Arnautovic’s club-mates Andy Carroll and Javier Hernandez although they may not be sold in the winter transfer window.
