Stoke boss Mark Hughes added to his attacking options on deadline-day with the acquisition of Marko Arnautovic from Werder Bremen. The 24-year-old arrives at the Britannia on a four-year contract for a fee believed to be in the region of £2.5m and is one of five new faces at the club this summer along with Erik Pieters, Marc Muniesa, Oussama Assaidi and Stephen Ireland.
Speaking to the Potters official website upon completion of the deal, Hughes admitted he’s been keeping an eye on the Austrian international for some time:
“Marko is a player we have been aware of for some time and I’m really pleased we have been able to add him to our squad. He has played at the highest level in Holland, Italy and Germany and is keen to make his mark in England with Stoke City.”
The History
A somewhat temperamental character, Arnautovic switched clubs five times during his youth career before finally settling with Dutch outfit FC Twente. After racking up the goals for the club’s youth team (22 goals in 24 games) and reserves (27 goals in 32 games) the Austrian made his senior debut towards the end of the 2006/07 season. The following year produced just a couple of assists from 14 league appearances before Arnautovic stepped up another level – 12 goals and six assists from 28 matches persuaded Italian outfit Inter to snap him up on a one-year loan deal.
Arnautovic’s time in Serie A was far from successful, though. A series of off-field indiscretions were not taken lightly by then-manager Jose Mourinho, who played him a mere three times in the league – the Portuguese boss reckons the player “is a fantastic person but has the attitude of a child”.
Picked up by Werder Bremen in the summer of 2010, Arnautovic produced 14 goals and 11 assists from 72 Bundesliga matches – with last season harvesting five goals and eight assists from 26 appearances – but his time with the German club was somewhat chequered; fights with team-mates and club suspensions for speeding backed up Mourinho’s previous claims. On the international stage, Arnautovic has turned out 37 times for his country, producing 10 goals and eight assists.
The Prospects
Hailed as the next Zlatan Ibrahimovic upon his move to Inter, Arnautovic isn’t short on skill or self-belief – a lack of application has been his downfall up until this point. A highly-talented individual, he was fielded almost exclusively on the right flank during his time at Bremen, though standing six foot three inches tall, he offers the Potters an intriguing option as a lone forward.
From a Fantasy perspective, his classification as a midfielder right across the games is particularly significant. Coming in at 5.5 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), 4.9 in Sky Sports game and 2.0 in the Sun Dream Team, the Austrian looks a budget-friendly proposition and will be fundamental to Hughes’ attempts to reform Stoke into a more attack-minded outfit after years of Tony Pulis’ less aesthetically-pleasing approach.
If Hughes has a midfield spot in mind for the new boy, Jon Walters’ owners have reason to be concerned. The Republic of Ireland international has played all three matches so far on the right and while he could be shifted to “the hole” behind a lone forward, Walters could also face competition from another new face, Stephen Ireland, for game time.
Alternatively, Arnautovic could take up the lone forward role – handing Fantasy managers an out-of-position prospect as the Potters’ main goal threat. Peter Crouch started the first couple of Gameweeks but was dropped for Kenwyne Jones last week; the latter racked up a hat-trick in a recent Capital One Cup match but has been a peripheral figure under Hughes until now.
While back-to-back games against City and Arsenal will be enough to deter any would-be suitors for now, they should offer us a window into Hughes’ thinking and afford us the chance to assess where he intends to utilised Arnautovic. With three home games (NOR, WBA, SOT) and a trip to Fulham in four of the next five from Gameweek 6, Stoke’s upcoming schedule takes a turn for the better and, having grabbed six points from their first couple of fixtures, the Potters have been quick to adapt to their new manager’s approach as Hughes begins to prove the doubters wrong.
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