West Ham United broke the bank during the summer transfer window to secure the signing of French striker Sebastian Haller for a club-record fee of £45 million.
Manager Manuel Pellegrini suddenly found himself in need of a new striker after Austria international striker Marko Arnautovic completed a move to Chinese Super League giants Shanghai SIPG.
The former Stoke City star had earlier handed in a transfer request in January, and he was bent on leaving the London Stadium outfit despite signing a four-year deal worth £120,000-per-week six months earlier.