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This article is part of Football FanCast's Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news...

Marko Arnautovic is set to stay at West Ham United this summer, per the London Evening Standard.

What’s the word?

The Austria international flirted with an exit from the club in the January transfer window, almost leaving to move to China.

Instead, he signed a new contract that contains a £45m release clause.

The report states that Inter Milan are interested in signing the striker but that there is an expectation that he will remain at the club in this transfer window.

Football FanCast sources understand that there is unlikely to be a bid that matches the clause this summer, though there was previously a belief that another Chinese club would express interest.

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Bad news

Arnautovic cut a sullen figure in east London in the latter part of the 2018/19 season.

He scored ten goals throughout the Premier League campaign but did not register for 11 consecutive games after the transfer saga.

With the window rolling around, though, Arnautovic netted three in his final two appearances. That did not feel like a coincidence.

Indeed, the club’s interest in Celta Vigo’s Maxi Gomez in January was predicated on the idea that Arnautovic would leave, sources confirmed to FFC, and one feels that there is a similar situation going on here, needing the funds from a big departure like the Austrian to pursue targets like Gomez.

The club currently have two senior strikers – Javier Hernandez and Arnautovic – and they could certainly do with reinforcements.

FFC understands that manager Manuel Pellegrini was handed a transfer budget of £30m before sales and £24m has already been spent on Pablo Fornals.

Unless they see Arnautovic depart, then, there aren’t likely to be any big-money additions this summer.