Why Man Utd's Marko Arnautovic deal fell through
FT Desk
- 10 Aug 2022 09:27 BST
- 3 min read
Marco Arnautovic will not be leaving Bologna for Manchester United after all...
Manchester United's offer of €9 million for Austria striker Arnautovic was rejected by Bologna, but the Italians had expected the Red Devils to come back in with a higher bid.
That will no longer happen, though, with United moving onto other targets, and Football Transfers can reveal why they pulled out of a deal for Arnautovic.
As revealed by Sky Sports, former United players privately expressed concerns about the 33-year-old, joining fans in complaining about a player who's performances on the pitch and behaviour off it hasn't always been up to scratch.
Man Utd have pulled out of a deal for Marko Arnautovic following complaints from fans, according to the Athletic 🤯 pic.twitter.com/HXSIscPuyE
— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) August 9, 2022
Sky didn't mention any names in particular, but the likes of Gary Neville, Paul Scholes, Rio Ferdinand and Roy Keane have been outspoken critics of the post-Sir Alex Ferguson regime at Old Trafford.
Could Arnautovic cut it at Man Utd?
Arnautovic is certainly a talented player who in his younger days drew comparisons with Zlatan Ibrahimovic due to his combination of physical stature and silky skill.
Like Zlatan, Arnautovic has played for Inter Milan, but unlike the Sweden great, he will never player for United, his career failing to hit the same heights as Ibrahimovic since.
Whilst Arnautovic was previously a solid Premier League striker with Stoke City and West Ham, he never bettered a haul of 11 strikes in the English top-flight, and United need a safer goal guarantee if Cristiano Ronaldo is to leave.
Arnautovic scored 14 goals in 33 games as Bologna finished 13th in Serie A last season, but Italy was ranked two places and 29,739 points below England in UEFA's most recent country coefficients.
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What about Arnautovic's character?
Arnautovic was reprimanded at Euro 2020 after scoring for Austria against North Macedonia and celebrating by shouting anti-Albanian slurs in Serbian at opposition left-back Ezgjan Alioski.
He also once told a policeman in Vienna that: "I earn so much I could buy your life," but later apologised.
Arnautovic's brother Danijel is his agent, and the pair will have to look elsewhere if they plot a future away from Bologna.
He certainly won't be a United player.
