Former West Ham United Forward Wanted by Manchester United

Manchester United have made a shock bid to sign Bologna forward, Marko Arnautovic. The club’s Premier League campaign got off to a bad start as Brighton defeated them 2-1 today and things are looking desperate at the club.

According to the Athletic:

"Manchester United are interested in bringing Marko Arnautovic back to the Premier League and have made an €8million (£6.8m, $8.1m) bid for the Bologna forward, The Athletic understands.Erik ten Hag is hoping to bolster his attacking options before the summer transfer window shuts on September 1 and Arnautovic, 33, has emerged as a surprise target.United hope to entice Arnautovic back to England to become a squad player at the club. Ten Hag is an influential voice on this move and no player will join without his endorsement.Arnautovic previously worked under both Ten Hag and United’s assistant manager, Steve McClaren, during his time at Twente. His strength and characters are qualities admired by decision-makers at Old Trafford."

Has it gotten this bad at Old Trafford?

After Sunday’s defeat, this transfer news will hardly inspire Manchester United fans. Their star forward Cristiano Ronaldo still wants to leave and with the season already kicking off, the club would feel they need to get a striker in as soon as possible.

Marcus Rashford missed a few good chances against Brighton and Ronaldo, who was substituted on in the 53rd minute, could not inspire a Red Devils comeback at Old Trafford.

Young forwards Anthony Elanga and Alejandro Garnacho came on in the 90th minute but it was too little too late for Eric ten Hag’s side.

What would Arnautovic bring to Manchester United?

It is surprising that Manchester United are in for Arnautovic, as he is a player who left West Ham back in 2019 to head to China. He does not have a bad record in England and while at Stoke City he bagged 26 goals and got 31 assists in 145 appearances.

At West Ham, he scored 22 times and made 12 assists in 65 games. However, he did leave the Hammers for a lesser but more lucrative league in China joining Shanghai Port, where he scored 20 goals in 39 matches. Arnautovic played in Serie A last season with Bologna where he scored 14 goals in 33 games.

The move rings a bell of Odion Ighalo’s loan to Manchester United from Shanghai Shenhua; an unexpected move for a former Premier League player from a Shanghai team. Ighalo scored five goals in 23 games for United and has since been playing in Saudi Arabia.

If ten Hag is looking for a short-term fix in a moody forward to add more firepower up front, then Arnautovic would be his man. He and Steve McLaren know him from FC Twente, where Arnautovic scored 15 goals in 59 appearances.

Ten Hag needs someone to score goals fast and win him some games after a tough start to their Premier League run. He has been dealt a difficult hand with the Ronaldo situation but replacing him or Edinson Cavani with Arnautovic will be a brave move.