Teddy Sheringham has told West Ham to ‘take the money, get him out and move on’ if Marko Arnautovic wants to leave for China again.
The Austrian forward is understood to be the subject of a £19.7million bid from an unnamed Chinese Super League club.
It comes just seven months after he asked to leave the London Stadium to make a big-money move to the Far East in January.
West Ham ultimately rejected a £35m bid from a Chinese club and he ended up signing a bumper contract extension.
But, speaking exclusively to talkSPORT, Sheringham believes it may be time to cash in, if the player again asks to leave.
“It all depends on Marko’s attitude,” the former Hammers striker told Ian Abrahams.
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“Does he want to leave? Is he seeing himself going to China? Does he want to play for West Ham on the money he’s on? Is he going keep constantly having his head turned? I don’t know.
“You’ve got to ask him that question – Do you want to stay? Do you want to play for us?
“If not, let’s take the money, get him out and we’ll move on.”
Arnautovic only just signed that new West Ham contract in March.
After a proposed move to the Far East in January collapsed, he ended up penning a fresh four-year deal worth £100,000-a week and told Hammers fans he was ‘happy’ to stay in east London.
Now, six months later, he is the subject of another bid from China.
Sheringham insists West Ham are under no obligation to sell, although points out that it may be better to, than have the player demand even more money to stay for a second time.
“It sometimes happens like that at clubs – you sign an extra year, you get big money and the club say, ‘we need you this year but if they come in for you again next year we’ll sell you’. Then everybody’s happy.
“But in the same time, if that hasn’t been the case and West Ham don’t want him to go, he doesn’t have to go.
“If the offer is not as big as it was before, whatever they’re offering Marko, West Ham don’t have to take that money.
“You can’t keep having this going on every six months, though.
Adrian Durham thinks that West Ham could push into the top four next season in the Premier League
“Saying, ‘I want out and I want more money if I say’, that doesn’t work and it doesn’t rub well with the fans either, not the working class fans at West Ham – I know them very well.
“You don’t want that going on constantly every transfer window, you want it sorted.
“Do you want to play for us or not, can you give us your all? That’s what we want to see out there on the park, someone giving 100 per cent for our team.”