Bologna chief Marco Di Vaio has emphatically told Manchester United that the club wants to keep hold of Marko Arnautovic, claiming that the striker 'has no price tag'.
United have bid €8million for the forward who has previous Premier League experience with Stoke City and West Ham but recently spent two years in China before returning to Europe last year with Bologna. Arnautovic scored 14 goals in Serie A last season and it is understood United view the Austrian as a pragmatic, short-term option to support the starting forwards and an ideal character for the dressing room.
The club has so far been unsuccessful in adding to Erik Ten Hag's attacking options this summer, with Ajax's Antony proving too expensive and reports suggesting Red Bull Salzburg striker Benjamin Sesko is closing in on a move to sister club RB Leipzig. United conceded they were 'light' in forward areas last week and that was made evident on Sunday when Christian Eriksen started up front in Sunday's defeat to Brighton with Anthony Martial injured and Cristiano Ronaldo not fit enough to play 90 minutes.
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With time running out in the transfer window, that has seen United turn to Arnautovic but Bologna's sporting director has made it clear the club do not want to sell their star man. Di Vaio told Italia 1, via FootballItalia: “It’s not easy to play in the transfer window, there’s a lot of talk, we want to keep Marko. Sartori, the president and Fenucci said as much. He’s at the centre of our project.
“The interest in him makes us proud, especially because he was an idea by Sabatini and carried forward by the club to realize a dream, which was to bring him here after two or three years in China.
“It was a bet that we won, he responded on the pitch and we want to move forward with him. We don’t want to sell him, but to strengthen the team to have an important season.”
He added: “It’s not a question of money, he’s priceless for what he represents for us. We want to move forward with him because we believe he can do better and help us grow. He is always the first in training to spur the others on, he has no price tag.”
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