Marko Arnautovic finally got the move he wanted to the Chinese Super League on Monday when West Ham announced a £22.5m deal had been concluded with Shanghai SIPG.
It was second time lucky for the striker to get the transfer out to the riches of the Far East having initially tried in January, only to be stared down by the club who would only let him go if their £40m valuation was met.
The club ended up accepting nearly half of that seven months later just to get the Austrian away from the club after manager Manuel Pellegrini and the players indicated they didn't want him back around pre-season training.
To ensure there was a quick resolution to the deal to get Arnautovic away from the club, the Hammers made one demand to Shanghai SIPG - to pay all the money up front.
Seemingly that has been the case as football.london understands the Hammers will get the £22.5m transfer fee in one hit, which is why they have been able to try and hijack Valencia's transfer deal for number one target Maxi Gomez.
Most transfer moves involve payment of a fee being spread over three, four or maybe more payments over the course of a player's contract rather than the whole thing being paid up front.
In the case of Arnautovic, the cash-rich Shanghai side were able to hand the money over straight away and they also have to pay 100 per cent tax on the move so it'll end up costing them more than £40m to bring the Austrian striker to China.
Plus the fact that Arnautovic and his agent and brother Danijel were effectively holding the club to ransom over a move, the Hammers engineered their own demand to get the striker out of the club.
The Austrian striker left the club on Monday and was given a 43-word farewell statement by the Hammers that didn't even give so much as a thank you for his efforts following his two-year stint in the capital.
The statement simply read: "West Ham United can confirm that Marko Arnautovic has joined Chinese Super League champions Shanghai SIPG for an undisclosed fee.
"The 30-year-old Austrian departs after two seasons at London Stadium, during which he scored 22 goals in 65 appearances in Claret and Blue."
The striker is heading out to meet his new teammates on Tuesday afternoon in the Far East, where he is expected to earn in excess of £200,000 a week in wages.
