West Ham is approaching a start near £ 35m while Pellegrini explains his absence

Manuel Pellegrini claimed that Marko Arnautovic "had a head on another subject" after the player was expelled from the West Ham team for the 2-0 defeat at Bournemouth.

Austrian international Arnautovic, the club's first scorer with eight goals, is eager to invest a lot in China, Shanghai SIPG having already had a rejected offer of £ 35 million.

Hammers boss Pellegrini said Thursday that the 29-year-old would be allowed to leave, subject to a "good deal for both sides".

Callum Wilson and Joshua King sentenced the Hammers to defeat at Vitality Stadium after Andy Carroll, Arnautovic's replacement, missed a golden opportunity with a draw.

"The reason is that as a manager, you have to pick the players who work best during the week," said Pellegrini, explaining his team selection.

"Marko has his head on another topic, so I thought it was not a good idea for him to play today.

"I do not think we should continue to talk about players who are not part of the team right now.

"I never complain about players who are not here.

"We could not win and if Marko Arnautovic did not play, we have another player to do it."

Spain striker Lucas Perez has also been dismissed from the 18 Hammers players.

Asked about this decision, Pellegrini replied: "Same as Marko Arnautovic, I chose the 18 players that I think are better during the week."

Arnautovic saluted the local fans when he was replaced in the win against Arsenal last weekend.

His absence was the main topic of discussion before the shock of the south coast of Saturday and resulted in the only change for the Hammers: Carroll had only a second start in the league.

He did not take advantage of the opportunity, giving his team's best goal on the crossbar a few yards from the goal, the gaping goal after Michail Antonio spoiled the initial effort.

"When we started the second half, we had a clear option to score the first goal, which may change the game, absolutely," Pellegrini said of Carroll's efforts.

"Unfortunately for Andy and Antonio before, they could not score, but that's part of the game."

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