Man Utd can't even land Arnautovic as Bologna striker 'convinces' to snub 'desperate' offers

Marko Arnautovic has been 'sweetened' by Manchester United but is expected to stay at Bologna after talks with his manager.

As United received Brighton's turn at Old Trafford, there were reports of their interest in Arnautovic.

READ MORE: Ten Hag makes his Winners and Losers debut as Gerrard and Liverpool keep him company

The Athletic have revealed they have made a £6.8million bid for the 33-year-old, who spent six years in the Premier League with Stoke and West Ham.

Arnautovic's brother and agent Danijel, when asked about the speculation, said: "It is true that there is an offer from a well-known club. I am in contact with Bologna to see if that can happen."

The striker moved to China in 2019 and spent two years with the port of Shanghai before returning to Europe last summer to join Bologna in Serie A.

Arnautovic scored 14 league goals last season, which was apparently enough to prompt United to try and lure him to Old Trafford.

Corriere dello Sport (via Sport Witness) claim United's offer "won the striker, and not just a little", claiming his brother and agent "came to the office with the offer of the Red Devils: a little over €5m for the remuneration to be paid to Casteldebole and a contract of around €3m excluding tax".

Other reports suggest the original bid was €8-9 million.

But Bologna 'made a wall', rejecting the offer, and have now succeeded in persuading Arnautovic that they remain the best club for him.

The Austrian international reportedly met Bologna coach Sinisa Mihajlovic, whom Arnautovic 'considers an older brother', and was 'convinced' to stay.

The report claims there is 'some sort of pact between manager and player' to snub United's interest, with an improved offer expected in the coming days.

Mihajlovic's counterpart, Erik ten Hag "will do everything possible to get Marko signed", the two having worked together for three years while the Dutchman was an assistant coach at FC Twente.

United legend Gary Neville has said he has 'nothing to say' about the Arnautovic links, although he actually has a lot to say about what he clearly thinks was another move "desperate".

"The first thing you do when Manchester United's phone rings is to reject the offer because the reality is that after losing that game to Brighton on Sunday they are actually negotiating in an even worse position than Manchester United. they weren't on Saturday, and that's an even bigger issue for them," Neville told Sky Sports.

"I have a comment on everything in the world, apart from the signing of Marko Arnautovic by Manchester United. I have nothing to say.

"We've seen Radamel Falcao, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Edinson Cavani, Odion Ighalo - desperate, he's a pattern. It happens time and time again. I don't even get mad or animated about it anymore I'm not going to comment on that."