Bologna sporting director Marco Di Vaio underlined that Marko Arnautovic is not for sale, despite the serious interest from Manchester United.
The Red Devils are looking to add the Austrian veteran to their attack this month but their initial €8-9m bid was quickly declined by the Rossoblu, pushing them to come up with an improved bid. Despite their insistence, however, Bologna are not interested in selling the 33-year-old, who scored 14 goals in 33 Serie A games last campaign.
Speaking to Italia 1 tonight, Di Vaio discussed Arnautovic and his importance to Bologna.
“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.”
The Bologna sporting director then commented on if there was a price that the club would be willing to sell Arnautovic for.
“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.”
The Red Devils are looking to strengthen their attack before the summer transfer window ends, but they may be forced to look elsewhere as time is starting to run out.
Erik ten Haag’s side disappointed in their Premier League opener against Brighton on the weekend, putting the pressure on to impress now.
Translation – ‘ we want more money’
At his age, his priority should be playing regularly and appreciated. Bologna had a really good second half of the season, and were very difficult to beat. He should stay and become a proper cult hero instead of going to a lacking in soul club where he most likely be a bit part, and never get the game time to show his qualities.
Push the price way up and sell.
Those clowns are so badly run they’ll pay way over the odds