Aheed Abrar
Marko Arnautovic claims Manchester United wanted to sign him in 2016 under Jose Mourinho
Bologna star Marko Arnautovic has claimed that Manchester United wanted to sign him in 2016 during the Jose Mourinho era. However, back then, the 33-year-old alleged that the Red Devils did not have the money to sign him from West Ham United.
The Austria international was linked with a move to the Old Trafford side in the recent transfer window. However, fans were not happy about the prospect of signing the forward, and in the end, a deal did not end up materialising.
However, speaking to Voce Giallo Rossa (h/t Daily Star), Arnautovic asserted that United were interested in him previously as well. But after spending big on Pogba, the club could not afford the Austrian.
“Jose wanted me when I was at West Ham. He asked me how much I cost. But then United didn’t have enough money to sign me, because they had already bought Pogba.”
The Old Trafford side re-signed the France international from Juventus in the summer of 2016 for a club-record fee of £89 million. However, in hindsight, the move did not pan out, with the 29-year-old going back to Turin as a free agent in the recent transfer window.
Apart from Pogba, the Manchester-based club spent on other players as well. We got Henrikh Mkhitaryan from Borussia Dortmund, Eric Bailly from Villarreal and Zlatan Ibrahimovic on a free transfer.
Arnautovic was decent with Stoke City and West Ham in the Premier League. The 33-year-old then made his way to China and joined Shanghai Port.
Upon his move to Bologna, the Austrian has become the Serie A outfit’s talisman. After scoring goals for them in the previous campaign, the striker has found the back of the net eight times in 13 league games.
While during Mourinho’s reign, we got Ibrahimovic in, we could have evidently used someone like Arnautovic this season in the squad. Anthony Martial is the only natural striker at Erik ten Hag’s disposal after Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure.
More Manchester United News
- Manchester United are confident that they will sign Cody Gakpo next month
- Transfer News: Manchester United are close to agreeing a deal for forward Joao Felix
- Manchester United will look to bolster four department position in 2023
Considering we seemingly need to bolster the front line, will United make another attempt to sign the Austrian in the coming transfer windows? Only time will tell.
