Rio Ferdinand has given a damning verdict of Manchester United’s pursuit of Marko Arnautovic, describing their bid as “horrendous”.
As reported by the Manchester Evening News , United have made a bid of €8million for the Bologna forward as they look to add to their attacking options. The Reds’ lack of forwards was exposed in their opening day defeat to Brighton as Christian Eriksen started as a false nine.
Nevertheless, their bid for Arnautovic has been met with ridicule by many United fans. Supporters are unhappy with the club’s attempts to sign another older striker, having missed out on the likes of Erling Haaland and Darwin Nunez already this year.
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It is understood United view Arnautovic as a short-term option to support the starting forwards. His addition would follow a trend which has seen the club sign the likes of Odion Ighalo and Edinson Cavani over the past few years. And Ferdinand has now joined the dissenting voices as he pulled no punches with his verdict.
“Horrendous,” Ferdinand told his Vibe With Five podcast. “It’s in the news, his agent might be doing bits I don’t know but if that’s true, if we’re getting turned down by players who are past their best… wow.”
Officials from the Italian club have already insisted they want to keep Arnautovic this summer. Both sporting director Marco Di Vaio and manager Sinisa Mihajlovic have insisted they believe the Austria international will stay put.
“It’s not a question of money, he’s priceless for what he represents for us,” Di Vaio said. “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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