Prior to Manchester United spending vast amounts of money to convince Ajax to let Antony move to Old Trafford, the Red Devils were targeting a very different type of player.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s desire to play in the Champions League had forced them to look on the transfer market for a out and out striker, with Bologna’s Marko Arnautovic becoming a surprisingly concrete target.
It made some sense, with the Austrian already knowing the Premier League and having worked with Erik ten Hag in the past, but Manchester United fans felt he wasn’t of the required level to play for their club, and they quickly voiced their discontent.
Alongside that bid, they also approached Arnautovic himself with an offer, which Il Resto del Carlino, relayed by 1000 Cuori Rossoblu, say ‘swayed the attacker’.
However, he was never able to act on it, as Bologna sent the whole thing ‘back to the sender’, effectively teaming up with Manchester United fans to put an end to the entire affair.
In the end, Cristiano Ronaldo stayed, even if he is rarely used from the off by Ten Hag, and Arnautovic is now one of the more prolific goalscorer in Serie A with six goals in seven Serie A games, finding the back of the net once every 102 minutes.
