MANCHESTER UNITED have ended their shock pursuit of Marko Arnautovic due to fan backlash.
The Red Devils made a surprise swoop for the Bologna forward earlier this week – much to the amazement of the Old Trafford faithful.
But fan backlash to the move has prompted the Premier League big boys to pull the plug on the deal.
That’s according to The Athletic, who claim “complaints from fans” was a contributing factor to the club nixing the transfer.
They also claim Serie A side Bologna priced the former West Ham man out of the “low-cost bracket”.
United are now expected to move on to securing other attacking reinforcements before the transfer window shuts on August 31.
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United’s pursuit of Arnautovic shocked many, including former Prem striker Chris Sutton.
During an appearance on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Monday Night Club, the ex-Chelsea man said: “That’s madness, thinking about signing [Arnautovic].
“I thought it was a spoof, it’s ridiculous.
“It’s a real wrong move in terms of the eyes of the supporters.
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“There’s a million other players out there United should have been linked with. I do no get that.
“It’s an absolute PR disaster. If Arnautovic comes in, that’s going to put Ten Hag under so much pressure.”
New United boss Erik ten Hag is already under pressure following the club’s shock defeat to Brighton on Sunday afternoon.
The Red Devils suffered a 2-1 defeat to the Seagulls at Old Trafford thanks to a brace from Pascal Gross.
Ten Hag said of the defeat: “It is a hell of a job [before us] – we have to work really hard, analyse and then move forward.
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“Today was a good start and then after that we dropped down a level in belief and we made mistakes that the opponent punished.
“But it was a good opponent, we [tried to] work well together but when you make mistakes you get punished for that.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
