How is ex-Stoke City and West Ham star Marko Arnautovic getting on? | OneFootball

We take a look at how the Austrian forward is doing just over five years on from his departure from English football

Forward Marko Arnautovic enjoyed a fruitful six years in English football with Stoke City and West Ham, and is still playing at the top level for both club and country to this day.

Arnautovic joined the Potters in a deal worth £2m from Werder Bremen in the summer of 2013 as a 24-year-old, with a reputation for being a hot-headed, 'bad-boy of Austrian football' from his time with boyhood club FC Twente, Inter Milan, and Die Werderaner.

He was not the most prolific in his first two years in the Potteries, but was a hit with Stoke supporters for his eccentric persona on and off the pitch, and soon became one of the most important players in some of their most successful top-flight seasons in their history.

The Austrian was looked at as one of the most dangerous wingers in the Premier League for his standout performances in the 2015/16 and 2016/17 campaigns, and so earned a £20m move to West Ham in 2017, in a deal that left a sour taste in the mouths of many Potters fans.

Arnautovic kicked on even further in the capital though, as he was deployed more often in a central striking role, and bagged 22 goals in 65 games in all competitions across his two seasons with the Irons, while picking up the Hammer of the Year award in 2017/18 as he finished the campaign as the club's top-scorer.

He soon departed East London at 30-years-old in July 2019, and his career has taken a very interesting path since that move.

Arnautovic's career path after leaving West Ham was a strange one

Arnautovic seemed to be at the peak of his powers and in the form of his life while with the Hammers, so his next move came as a shock to many, as it did not seem like one that would progress his career even further in terms of on the pitch success.

He departed West Ham to join Shanghai SIPG in a move worth up to £22.4m, joining the likes of former Brazilian internationals Oscar and Hulk at the reigning Chinese Super League champions, and reportedly earning £10m-a-year for his time at the club.

He spent three seasons in China, but was unable to win any silverware with his new club despite registering 20 goals and four assists in 39 appearances, and later admitted that he had "underestimated" the level of the league and how fit he needed to be to play.

The Austrian returned to European football in 2021 to join Serie A side Bologna, and proved that he was not done at the highest level by bagging 15 times in 34 appearances in his first campaign, then 10 times in 23 games in his second season with I Rossoblu.

Arnautovic is still a key man for club and country

Arnautovic is now 35-years-old, and it will come as no surprise that he has hardly slowed down in the years since he left West Ham, and still features week-in, week-out at the highest level.

He made a dream return to Inter Milan - where he won the treble on loan in the 2009/10 season - in 2023, again on loan, and made that move permanent this summer after notching seven goals and three assists as Simone Inzaghi's side won the Serie A title for the 20th time in the club's history in 2023/24.

The Austrian is still one of his country's star players, and has arguably got even better on the international stage in recent years since leaving English football.

He is now into his sixteenth year playing for his country, and is undoubtedly a legendary figure in Austrian football as the most capped player in his national team's history with 118 appearances since his debut and the second-highest all-time top goalscorer for his country with 37 goals, just seven behind record-holder Toni Polster.

At international level, similar to his club career, he has become more prolific as he has got older after benefitting from a switch to a central striking role during his time at West Ham - he scored 11 goals in his first 56 games for Austria, yet has netted 26 times in the 62 games since.

He has stepped up on the biggest stage too, after he netted his country's third goal in a 3-1 win in their first game of Euro 2020 against North Macedonia to score his first ever tournament goal, and then followed that up three years later at Euro 2024 with a goal as Austria won 3-1 in the group stage against Poland, and he also captained the team in every game at this summer's tournament.

It is clear to see that Arnautovic has gone from strength-to-strength since leaving West Ham, and he is showing no signs of slowing down just yet as he likely begins to approach the end of his career.