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Gossip: West Ham stand firm on Arnautovic, as Morata closes in on Madrid return


Welcome to Monday evening’s Gossip column, as Yahoo Sport UK rounds up all the latest transfer rumours from this afternoon.

The breaking news of the day is that Huddersfield Town have moved quickly to confirm David Wagner’s replacement.

Wagner left the Terriers on January 14 and club chairman Dean Hoyle confirmed Monday that Borussia Dortmund second team boss Jan Siewert has been named the new Huddersfield manager on a two-and-a-half year deal.

Siewert has a large job on his hands. The German takes charge of a team 10 points from safety with 15 games to play, and who have only scored 13 goals in 23 games.

There’s been a new twist in the Marko Arnautovic saga. West Ham have reportedly told the Austrian that he can leave the club – but they are adamant any deal will be done in the summer and that he will be going nowhere this month.

Manuel Pellegrini now needs to find a way to re-integrate Arnautovic into his squad.
Manuel Pellegrini now needs to find a way to re-integrate Arnautovic into his squad.

The Hammers are keen to avoid a similar situation to two years ago when Dimitri Payet refused to play to force through a move away to Marseille.

But West Ham are reluctant to lose Arnautovic this month and would demand up to £50million for him before they would even consider letting him leave.

However, Arnautovic and his agent and brother Danijel have made it clear he wants to leave before then and with the Chinese transfer window not closing until the end of February, the striker may still get his way.

Alvaro Morata‘s miserable time at Chelsea looks like it is about to come to an end.

The Blues’ striker is reportedly on the verge of returning to Madrid – but rather than re-join Real, it is crosstown rivals Atletico who are set to land their man.

Chelsea striker Álvaro Morata closes in on Atlético Madrid loan
Chelsea striker Álvaro Morata closes in on Atlético Madrid loan

Morata joined Chelsea from Real Madrid on a five-year contract for a then-club-record £57m fee in July 2017.

However after a bright start, the Spaniard’s form tailed off dramatically. Now, Sky are reporting that Morata will join Atletico Madrid on loan, with the LaLiga club having an option to buy in the summer.

Morata’s move comes as Chelsea close in on a deal to sign Gonzalo Higuain from AC Milan where he has been on loan from Juventus this season.

Meanwhile, Bayern Munich have entered the race for Manchester City starlet Rabbi Matondo and are ready to launch a £10m bid.

The Welsh youth international runs out-of-contract next year, with talks on-going over an extension.

The 18-year-old is the latest in a long line of British talents being targeted by German clubs, like Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho. Matondo is also wanted by Everton, Southampton and Borussia Monchengladbach.