Manchester United have bid €8million for Bologna forward Marko Arnautovic in a potential transfer that would likely invite ridicule.
Arnautovic, 32, returned to Europe to sign for Bologna last year after spending two years with Chinese Super League team Shanghai Port.
The Austria international is familiar to United manager Erik ten Hag and assistant Steve McClaren from his time at Twente, where McClaren was manager and Ten Hag his assistant between 2008-10.
Also read: Ten Hag defends key selection vs Brighton
It is understood United view Arnautovic as a pragmatic, short-term option to support the starting forwards and an ideal character for a dressing room still struggling for self-belief after last season.
Ten Hag believes United have a plethora of technical and quick left-sided players who are not particularly physical or adept at playing with their back to goal.
United are considering recruiting Arnautovic so Ten Hag has an alternative option who can help the team grind out wins. Arnautovic is seen as a potential game-changer off the bench.
The Manchester Evening News revealed this week United accept they are "light" up front following the departures of attack-minded players Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard, Juan Mata and Edinson Cavani.
Arnautovic spent six years in the Premier League with Stoke and West Ham, where he left in acrimonious circumstances to move to China in 2019.
The prospect of United signing the Austria international is already causing consternation among United supporters following their demoralising opening Premier League defeat to Brighton.
United signed Odion Ighalo on loan on deadline day in January 2020 from Shanghai Shenhua and on summer deadline day eight months later recruited Edinson Cavani after his contract expired with Paris Saint-Germain. Ighalo was aged 30 and Cavani 33 at the time of their arrivals.
The Ighalo move was sparked by Marcus Rashford's long-term absence with a back injury and the move for Cavani was opportunistic, according to United sources.
That United are contemplating a fourth move for a 30-something forward, having also re-signed Cristiano Ronaldo last season, further undermines their recruitment reboot of 2019 when they settled on a preference for targets aged between 23 and 28.
Three years ago, high-level sources at United derided the possibility of 'running around desperate for a 43-year-old' in the transfer market - believed to be a reference to Mario Mandzukic.
READ MORE:
