Jose Mourinho’s sacking at Manchester United could mean West Ham United will go through January unchallenged over talisman Marko Arnautovic.
The Portuguese was relieved of his duties as Red Devils boss on Tuesday, just days after a shambolic 3-1 defeat to bitter rivals Liverpool at Anfield.
The writing seemed to have been on the wall for some time for the ex-Chelsea manager, who has overseen United’s worst ever start to a Premier League season.
Mourinho leaves the club sixth in the table, 11 points off the top four and a staggering 19 points behind league leaders Liverpool.
Many are thrilled to see the back of Mourinho, and that includes some West Ham fans who have digested reports in recent months that he was keen to sign Arnautovic in January.
Mourinho and United supposedly wanted Arnautovic in the summer, with Sky Sports reporting the Hammers had slapped a £50 million price tag on the striker.
Fresh reports emerged last month (The Mirror) that Mourinho wanted to try again for the player in January. Now, of course, he will not get the chance to try and facilitate that potential move, much to the delight of the West Ham faithful.
He was probably unlikely to leave the club anyway, but surely this now means Arnautovic will be staying put at the London Stadium for a little while longer
With Mourinho no longer at the helm at Old Trafford, would Manchester United still want him?
Given Arnautovic’s age, it was easy to say that he was a ‘typical’ Mourinho player.
Now that he’s been sacked, one has to wonder whether he is a ‘typical’ Manchester United player.