Marko Arnautovic breaks silence after Man Utd withdraw transfer interest and says he is ‘fully focused on Bologna’

MARKO ARNAUTOVIC has broken his silence on his transfer links with Manchester United.

United were linked with a move for the 33-year-old earlier this month, but pulled out of a deal following a fan backlash.

The Bologna striker was wanted by Erik ten Hag, owing to the time they had spent together at FC Twente, as a short-term option to solve a problem in the forward department.

When asked about the links during a press conference on Saturday, Arnautovic said: “The market is the market.

“I’ve been in the world of football for many years and I know there could be clubs interested during the transfer window.

“But now I am focused on Bologna.”

The former West Ham striker scored 15 goals in 34 games for Bologna last season.

Consequently, the Serie A outfit were reluctant to let him go, and quoted United a significantly higher price than the £6.8million they bid for him.

United caused further dismay from fans with their reported interest in Adrien Rabiot shortly after their horror 2-1 defeat to Brighton.

The Red Devils football director John Murtough flew to Italy to help get a deal for the French midfielder over the line.

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United have also received boosts in their respective pursuits of striker Sasa Kalajdzic and Frenkie De Jong.

De Jong has been linked with United throughout the summer, and United have agreed a fee with Barcelona to sign him, and now the Dutchman is said to be “angry” with Barca over their handling of his potential departure.

United face a tough test against Brentford in today’s late kick-off but need to get some points on the board and get their season kickstarted.