‘Man Utd didn’t reject him, he turned them down!’ claims transfer target’s agent
Suraj Radia
- 14 Oct 2022 17:01 BST
- 4 min read
Manchester United’s summer window was spent chasing dozens of targets, some of whom were more warmly received by supporters than others.
United had pursued the likes of Frenkie de Jong and Darwin Nunez to begin the summer but progressed to cheaper and less convincing targets after their budget was depleted.
One of those targets was Marko Arnautovic, the former West Ham striker who now plays for Serie A side Bologna, a move which fans reacted negatively to when the news broke.
United initially had a £7.5m bid rejected for the Austrian, prompting ridicule from certain fans who were dismayed at the idea that Arnautovic could be a potential replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo, whose future at Old Trafford was in doubt during the summer.
It prompted speculation that United pulled out of a move for the 33-year-old after seeing supporter reaction, however Arnautovic’s agent, Tiziano Pasquali, has insisted that the player was the one who pulled the plug on the transfer.
“Juventus and Manchester United had come forward,” Pasquali told reporter Gianluca Di Marzio. “We had received a written proposal from the English, and the negotiations had continued even after some negative opinions from their fans.
“But in the end it was Marko who chose not to take too long and to stay in Bologna. How can you think that he is now wrong?
“Arnautovic is happy here: city, fans, team, society. And coach. He only thinks of working in the best possible way.”
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United’s rollercoaster summer
United’s summer initially began with new manager Erik ten Hag spending around £65m to bring in Lisandro Martinez, Tyrell Malacia and Christian Eriksen.
However, alarm bells were sounded when United suffered embarrassing defeats in their first two Premier League games, leaving the club bottom of the table for the first time in 30 years.
It prompted a flurry of activity from club officials and the club were linked to more than 20 players in the days following the 4-0 defeat to Brentford, with Arnautovic and Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot two of the targets who were strongly pursued.
The #SerieA💎 capocannonieri race is HOTTING UP 🔥
Arnautović and @ciroimmobile lead the race but a few are hot on their tails - who'll end this campaign on top?
✨ @cryptocom ✨ pic.twitter.com/AaUVd7DH49— Lega Serie A (@SerieA_EN) October 12, 2022
Both players ended up rejecting moves to Old Trafford and United picked up their first win under Ten Hag against Liverpool, encouraging the club to push through big money moves for Casemiro and Antony.
With United winning five of their six games since their humiliation against Brentford, some may say the failure to secure Arnautovic worked out for both parties, with the forward’s six goals making him the joint-top scorer in Serie A so far this season.
Read more about: Serie A, Premier League, Bologna, Juventus, Man Utd, Adrien Rabiot, Antony, Casemiro, Christian Eriksen, Cristiano Ronaldo, Darwin Núñez, Frenkie de Jong, Lisandro Martínez, Marko Arnautovic, Tyrell Malacia
