Italian news broke that Shanghai Seaports' foreign player, Arnautovic from Austria, seems to be on the verge of signing with Serie A side Bologna. However, in a recent interview on the Austrian TV program "willkommen", Arnautovic himself denied the news of his departure from the Chinese Super League and emphasized that his contract with Shanghai Seaports has not yet expired.
According to Italian media reports, Arnautovic is proposing to sign a 2 to 3 year deal with Bologna with an annual salary of up to €2.7 million. Meanwhile, his termination talks with Shanghai Seaport are underway with the intention of moving away from the Chinese Super League. In addition, clubs such as West Ham United, Crystal Palace and Fenerbahce have also shown strong interest in the star.
But Arnautovic himself doesn't seem to care about these transfer rumors. When asked if he is leaning towards joining Bologna or West Ham United, he bluntly said, "I don't really want to discuss this kind of topic. What I want to say is that I still have one and a half years left on my contract, and now is not the time to think about other teams."
Arnautovic's deal is reportedly set to run until November 2022 and is expected to earn over €10 million a year. With such generous terms, it is unlikely that he will be able to break his contract and return to Europe to accept a much lower one, barring exceptional circumstances.
It is worth mentioning that Arnautovic left the English Premier League to join Shanghai Seaport in pursuit of a higher income. This season, Shanghai Seaport has performed well in the Chinese Super League, largely due to the fact that they have retained several strong foreign players. If Arnautovic were to leave, it would undoubtedly deal a major blow to the team, but that seems unlikely to happen, at least for this season.
