Manchester United have had an offer rejected by Serie A club Bologna for Austrian striker Marko Arnautovic, reports Laurie Whitwell and James Horncastle of The Athletic.
The Red Devils are currently on the hunt for a new forward who can compete with Anthony Martial and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Manchester United’s Offer to Sign Marko Arnautovic Rejected
Bologna ‘Resisting’ Red Devils’ Pressure to Sign Arnautovic
United made an offer of £8 million for the 33-year-old striker, only to see it swiftly turned down. The Serie A club are resisting pressure from United for the transfer of the Austria international. United view Arnautovic as someone who can help bolster their striking options.
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Erik ten Hag shares history with Arnautovic, who worked with him at FC Twente between 2006 and 2009. The Dutchman was then the assistant manager for the club and was able to help the striker during the formative years of his career.
He admires the Austrian for his character and his strengths as a centre-forward. The United boss ideally wants to reunite with the 33-year-old due to their understanding as well as the striker’s experience of having played in the Premier League.
Manchester United are keen on signing forward Marko Arnautovic from Bologna. (Sunday Express) pic.twitter.com/zJQIROuFPo
— Transfer News Central (@TransferNewsCen) August 7, 2022
Arnautovic’s Career So Far
The Austrian forward comes with a lot of experience, having been playing professional football for over a decade now. He has played for the likes of Stoke City and West Ham United in the Premier League, having scored 43 goals in 184 appearances for both clubs.
In total, Arnautovic has scored 114 competitive goals in his domestic career, as well as 33 goals in over 100 appearances for the Austria national team too. But the 33-year-old is also known to be a temperamental and controversial figure, having gotten himself in trouble on quite a few occasions in his career.
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Last year during Euro 2020, the striker was banned for one game after reportedly shouting the explicit term ‘I’m f******* your Albanian mother’ at North Macedonia player Gjanni Alioski after scoring in a 3-1 win in the group stages. He was also accused of racism during his time at FC Twente.
At West Ham, he was once sent off in the 2017/18 season against Southampton for recklessly elbowing Jack Stephens.
]Arnautovic is unpredictable with his temperament and even Jose Mourinho – who managed him during his short loan spell with Inter Milan in the 2009/10 season – stated that he has the ‘attitude of a kid’.
