​A reliable source of ​West Ham transfer news claims that the Hammers have not been contacted by ​Manchester United about the possibility of signing Marko Arnautovic, contrary to reports.

There have been rumours circulating that Arnautovic ​could be in line for a move to Old Trafford – a piece of news which was greeted with fear by West Ham supporters and derision by Manchester United fans. 

But ExWHUemployee claimed that there was no substance to these rumours, ​telling his followers:

“In order to balance out the Lanzini news and be positive: there has been no contact from Manchester U regarding Arnautovic and we have spoke to them about something else and it wasn’t mentioned then! Most of what I tweeted a few days ago remains the same regarding transfers.”

When pressed as to what the ‘something else’ was that the two clubs had discussed, he revealed that West Ham had made contact about the availability of Manchester United players for purchase or loan.

ExWHUemployee has become known as a trustworthy font of transfer news, such as in January when he broke the news that West Ham were attempting to sign Ryan Fredericks from Fulham – a deal which was completed six months later.

This news assuaged fears that West Ham could lose their player of the season, who has scored 11 goals since moving to the London Stadium from Stoke last summer.

It is a good piece of news at the end of a troubled week for West Ham in which another star player, Manuel Lanzini, suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in training for Argentina.

The injury means that Lanzini will miss the World Cup and the start of next season.

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