Stoke are right to take tough stance on Marko Arnautovic's West Ham move, says Charlie Adam

Wants out: Arnautovic has handed in a transfer request at Stoke
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James Benge11 July 2017

Stoke City’s decision to stand firm over West Ham target Marko Arnautovic’s transfer request has received the backing of midfielder Charlie Adam.

Arnautovic asked to leave the Bet365 Stadium after West Ham submitted a £15million bid for the Austrian international, which Stoke have since confirmed they have rejected.

That will not dissuade West Ham, who are expected to return with a second offer with Stoke insisting that they will only sell the player “if the terms are right”, according to chairman Peter Coates.

A tough stance will have the backing of Scottish midfielder Adam, who insisted that Stoke were entitled to make it difficult for Arnautovic to engineer an escape route.

“Marko's a massive figure at the club, I'm going to say it from the players' point of view,” Adam told reporters. “He's a wonderful player and he's done a great job for us but something has changed and he's made a decision.

“He wants to look after his family. The club have a say in it and won't make it easy for him, which is right, you can't just turn up, hand a transfer request in and expect to leave. The club will make it difficult for him.

“He's our best player. It's a shock but the club will deal with it in the right way and the manager will deal with it in the right way.”

The 28-year-old forward was a target for West Ham last summer and would give Slaven Bilic the pace, power and Premier League experience he craves in the transfer market.

However Stoke boss Mark Hughes is adamant that West Ham will not have it their own way.

“Any comings and goings are at our discretion and it's our decision ultimately,” Hughes told the Stoke Sentinel.

“Players can express an opinion or a view in terms of where they see their future but at the end of the day contracted players are contracted to the club and ultimately we have the final say.”

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