Marko Arnautovic has revealed that Manchester United originally attempted to sign him five years ago - and claimed they "didn't have enough money".
The attacker was the subject of intense interest in the summer transfer window just gone, but he ultimately stayed at Bologna. For a time, the Austrian was one of the Premier League's best strikers, but he made an ill-fated move to China in 2019.
Before that, he had starred for Stoke City and West Ham, attracting interest from their Premier League rivals. While at those two clubs, his former manager at Inter Milan, Jose Mourinho, became keen on bringing him to Old Trafford.
But Arnautovic has now revealed that Mourinho's hopes of signing him were scuppered by United's move for Paul Pogba. He has claimed that the Red Devils did not have the money to sign him, having spent more than £80million on Pogba.
“He already knows. He wanted me when I was at West Ham. He asked me: ‘How much does it cost?’ And I said: ‘Ah, do you still want me?’ But his Manchester United had already bought Pogba and they didn’t have enough money for me,” he told Gazzetta dello Sport.
United surprisingly made a second attempt to sign Arnautovic in the summer just gone. Boss Erik ten Hag has made boosting his attacking options a priority since taking over in June, with Arnautovic becoming a shock target.
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But Bolonga refused to consider selling him, with sporting director Marco Di Vaio insisting that the Serie A side wanted to keep him in Italy, rather than let him move to Old Trafford.
"We want to keep going with Arnautovic and keep him, he's at the centre of our project. Of course we're proud to receive interest from a club like Manchester United for one of our players," he told Italia 1 in August.
"But Bologna's wish now is to keep our current team and strengthen it in order to have an important season. It is not a question of money. Marko is priceless for us. He represents a gamble that we all won.
"We went to pick him up in China when everybody forgot about him. He's too important for us, we want him to keep on helping us reach that next level and grow our youngsters leading by example."
Having failed to sign Aranutovic, United are still searching for a new attacker. Ten Hag has admitted his desire to bring in a striker has only increased after the Red Devils terminated the contract of Cristiano Ronaldo.
"We do everything that is in our power, so I do research on every opportunity that comes. We do everything we can if that opportunity will be there. I cannot give comment on specific players, I will never do," he said earlier this month.
"I’ve told you before, in the summer as well, when you talked about a lot of players. Each player is under contract and I respect that but we make sure we are working in the background to get the right players in."
