In theory, the club should have oversight on recruitment. Just as the manager should have a veto. That way you ensure the worst mistakes are avoided.
But this summer I have no issue with the manager having particularly heavy say in recruitment, as the club itself seemed to to recognise that its own recruitment set-up wasn't up to scratch when it shed its two chief scouts as part of an overhaul just weeks before the transfer window opened. So, fine. It reflects terribly on the club, but different rules apply for this transfer window.
The issue I have with the Arnautovic signing isn't that it's an ETH-driven target. It's that I don't believe it could be anything other than a signing right from the very bottom of the list of ETH-driven targets. A signing you only resort to in an emergency situation where the club has failed to secure multiple better options in that position the manager wanted.
In other words it's almost exactly the same thing Van Gaal (and others) complained about. We signed players, we were told they were his choices, then he later pointed out they were his choices after the club failed to secure all the players he wanted more.
ETH wanting Arnautovic once he's put in a situation where its Arnautovic or nothing isn't really the same as him wanting Arnautovic. And to your Conte comparison, I don't think any of Bissouma, Richarlison, Perisic or Lenglet were as far down on his list of options as Arnautovic is for ETH. They actually secured his higher priority targets to a degree we've failed to.
