In the second round of the 1/8 finals of the UEFA Europa League, which ended in the morning light on June 27, the Austrian team defeated Italy 1-2 and regretted to bid farewell to the top eight. After the match, Austria's international striker Arnautovic, who is currently playing for Shanghai Harbor in the Chinese Super League, hinted that the next stop of his career might be in Italy. Immediately afterward, Italian media members let slip through social media platforms that Arnautovic would join Serie A team Bologna as a free agent. However, as of now, Arnautovic is still a member of the Harbor team, according to a report by Beijin-Beijing Headlines.
In today's professional soccer world, which requires a high degree of standardization and rigor, domestic clubs should remain cautious when dealing with player transfers and other matters, and strictly abide by the spirit of contract, rules and laws in order to safeguard their rights and interests. As of now, Arnautovic's chances of returning to China are slim due to the impact of the epidemic and the national team's World Qualifier duties. However, the Harbor Team's treatment of him is fully justified in accordance with procedures and rules. Even if Arnautovic leaves the team, the club has the right to fight for a reasonable transfer fee to minimize losses.
Rumors of Arnautovic's transfer have been fermenting rapidly since he returned to Europe to prepare for the Europa League. After the start of the Europa League, there were even rumors that Arnautovic had agreed to a three-year contract with Bologna, with an annual salary of up to 2.7 million euros.
After Austria was eliminated by Italy in the 1/8 finals of the Europa League, Arnautovic said that although he is still a member of Harbour, his next stop could be Italy. An Italian media source revealed on June 28, Beijing time that Arnautovic has terminated his contract with Harbour and will join Bologna as a free agent.
However, Beiqing-Beijing headline reporter 29 revealed that as of now, Arnautovic is still a signed player of Harbor. As to whether he will move to other clubs, there is no official news yet.
Publicly available information shows that Arnautovic transferred to then-Shanghai Hong Kong in the 2019 season, and the contract between the two sides ends at the end of 2022. In the 2019 and 2020 seasons, Arnau accumulated 35 appearances for Shanghai Gang, scoring 17 goals. This season, he has made only four appearances for the team, scoring three goals. As of now, he has yet to win any championship honors for the team.
Of course, there is an understanding of Arnautovic's intention to leave the harbor. He was unable to be with his family for long periods of time last season and this season due to the epidemic, so it's easy to understand his tearful press conference before the Europa League kick-off.
From the current situation, the possibility of Arnautovic's return to the Chinese Super League is extremely small, if not almost non-existent. There are several reasons for this: firstly, due to the epidemic, he will have to go through the necessary quarantine period after his return to China, and by the time he is released from the quarantine, the latter stages of the Chinese Super League may have already begun. Secondly, according to the current plan of the CFA and the professional league preparation team, the Chinese Super League will finish the remaining 9 rounds of the first stage on August 12th. The league will then be temporarily suspended in September, October and November due to national team preparations and participation in the Top 12 tournament. Furthermore, Arnautovic is personally homesick and has been seeking the possibility of returning to Europe to play soccer. As the saying goes, "a twisted melon is not sweet", if the player is determined to leave, the club is afraid that he will not be forced to stay.
However, whatever way the transfer takes place, Arnautovic needs to respect the club and the covenant and follow the rules and laws. As he is an in-contract player of the Seaport, he cannot be transferred as a free agent unless the Seaport agrees.
The Seaport had brought in Arnautovic from West Ham United for a whopping fee of over €20 million back in the day, and now he is rumored to be on a free transfer to Bologna? Such news is illogical in any case.
Prior to this, including Carrasco, Paulinho, Talisca, Xavi, Hamsik, including a number of internationally renowned stars have left China's work football, although their transfer situation is different, but the relevant Chinese Super League clubs for their departure from the team suffered huge economic losses is a fact. Therefore, when the rumors of Arnautovic's transfer came out, many fans have called for the Chinese Super League clubs to "stick to the bottom line of rules and contracts" in managing foreign aid. As of now, even if Arnautovic is determined to move, the new owner will need to pay the necessary transfer fee to the harbor.
