Marko Arnautovic has left West Ham for Chinese Super League club Shanhai SIPG in a transfer understood to be worth around £22m.
Arnautovic spent two seasons with the Hammers, scoring 22 goals in 65 appearances, but his relationship with the club’s hierarchy deteriorated after an initial offer of around £19m was rejected.
West Ham have been linked with a move for Bournemouth’s Callum Wilson as a possible replacement for the Austrian international.
Meanwhile, fellow CSL club Shanghai Shenhua have signed Stephan El Shaarawy from AS Roma, making the Italy international forward their most expensive acquisition to date as they bid to avoid relegation.
The 26-year-old joined Shenhua for a transfer fee of £14m, the Italian Serie A club said on Monday.
Shenhua are 14th in the 16-team CSL standings just over halfway through the season, only one point above the relegation zone.
1/12 Matthijs de Ligt transfer timeline
The Dutch international is one of the most coveted players in Europe, but how did the teenager go from hot prospect to superclub transfer target?
REUTERS
2/12 Breakthrough
This has been a breakthrough campaign for De Ligt, with the 19-year-old making 55 first-team appearances for Ajax this season and breaking into the Dutch national team.
AFP/Getty Images
3/12 Golden Boy
In December 2018 he was named Golden Boy, becoming the first defender to win the award.
AFP/Getty Images
4/12 Barca rumours begin
De Ligt’s future has been a repeated topic of discussion in the Catalan press for months, with much speculation that he could follow Frenkie de Jong to the club.
EPA
5/12 Bite back
But the defender hit out at the rumours in April. “I don’t know if that’s a good newspaper,” he said of Mundo Deportivo. “They’ve been writing about me for a while now, but I’m still playing at Ajax. They’re not that well-informed. Nothing is happening at the moment.”
Getty Images
6/12 Juve links
He did however talk up a potential move to Juventus, “I really like [Giorgio] Chiellini, as he is one of the best defenders in the world. I also appreciate [Leonardo] Bonucci, so between them they are among the best centre-backs in Europe,” he said earlier this season.
“I could join them at Juventus, but we’ll see at the right moment. For now, I am focused on Ajax and not my future. My agent is taking care of that.”
Getty Images
7/12 United arrive on scene
Manchester United are desperate to overhaul their defence this season and ahead of the end of the season there were reports they had also entered the race to sign the 19-year-old.
Getty Images
8/12 De Ligt keeping coy
The defender appeared to confirm an impending move when he said: “I’m very excited for what could be coming in the near future.
“But I am calm too. I see it as a challenge, that’s the most important thing. There are various options, what I’m doing is looking for the best option.”
Getty Images
9/12 Barca knocked back?
Ahead of Ajax’s Champions League semi-final, the Dutch press began reporting that De Ligt had not yet decided on whether to move to Barcelona or not and was keeping his options open.
PA
10/12 Juve bid
According to Italian publication Tuttosport, Juve attempted to steal a march on their European rivals in early June by becoming the first club to make a formal offer to Ajax, with an opening offer of £75m.
Getty Images
11/12 United told to wait
Meanwhile in the Dutch and English press, the story broke that De Ligt had told United to expect a decision on his future in the coming days.
AFP/Getty Images
12/12 The long wait
Ahead of Holland’s Nations League campaign, the player’s future was still up in the air. Will he pick Barcelona, Manchester United or Juventus?
EPA
1/12 Matthijs de Ligt transfer timeline
The Dutch international is one of the most coveted players in Europe, but how did the teenager go from hot prospect to superclub transfer target?
REUTERS
2/12 Breakthrough
This has been a breakthrough campaign for De Ligt, with the 19-year-old making 55 first-team appearances for Ajax this season and breaking into the Dutch national team.
AFP/Getty Images
3/12 Golden Boy
In December 2018 he was named Golden Boy, becoming the first defender to win the award.
AFP/Getty Images
4/12 Barca rumours begin
De Ligt’s future has been a repeated topic of discussion in the Catalan press for months, with much speculation that he could follow Frenkie de Jong to the club.
EPA
5/12 Bite back
But the defender hit out at the rumours in April. “I don’t know if that’s a good newspaper,” he said of Mundo Deportivo. “They’ve been writing about me for a while now, but I’m still playing at Ajax. They’re not that well-informed. Nothing is happening at the moment.”
Getty Images
6/12 Juve links
He did however talk up a potential move to Juventus, “I really like [Giorgio] Chiellini, as he is one of the best defenders in the world. I also appreciate [Leonardo] Bonucci, so between them they are among the best centre-backs in Europe,” he said earlier this season.
“I could join them at Juventus, but we’ll see at the right moment. For now, I am focused on Ajax and not my future. My agent is taking care of that.”
Getty Images
7/12 United arrive on scene
Manchester United are desperate to overhaul their defence this season and ahead of the end of the season there were reports they had also entered the race to sign the 19-year-old.
Getty Images
8/12 De Ligt keeping coy
The defender appeared to confirm an impending move when he said: “I’m very excited for what could be coming in the near future.
“But I am calm too. I see it as a challenge, that’s the most important thing. There are various options, what I’m doing is looking for the best option.”
Getty Images
9/12 Barca knocked back?
Ahead of Ajax’s Champions League semi-final, the Dutch press began reporting that De Ligt had not yet decided on whether to move to Barcelona or not and was keeping his options open.
PA
10/12 Juve bid
According to Italian publication Tuttosport, Juve attempted to steal a march on their European rivals in early June by becoming the first club to make a formal offer to Ajax, with an opening offer of £75m.
Getty Images
11/12 United told to wait
Meanwhile in the Dutch and English press, the story broke that De Ligt had told United to expect a decision on his future in the coming days.
AFP/Getty Images
12/12 The long wait
Ahead of Holland’s Nations League campaign, the player’s future was still up in the air. Will he pick Barcelona, Manchester United or Juventus?
EPA
Former Valencia and Watford coach Quique Sanchez Flores resigned last week after just over six months in charge after a disappointing run, citing “personal reasons”.
The Spaniard was replaced by Choi Kang-hee and on Monday his compatriot Kim Shin-wook, an experienced international striker, also made the move to Shenhua from Jeonbuk Motors.
Shenhua have scored only 18 goals in 16 matches this season and will be looking to their newly acquired strike force to improve their effectiveness up front.
El Shaarawy, capped 23 times by Italy, joined Roma from AC Milan in January 2016 after spending the first half of the season on loan at French side Monaco.
Additional reporting by Reuters
