Manchester United made their attempt to sign Juventus striker Mario Mandzukic at the wrong time, according to reports.
There were a few rumours knocking around on Thursday after Romelu Lukaku completed his move to Serie A side Inter Milan.
Sky in Italy claimed on deadline day that United were ‘back in talks to sign’ Mandzukic as a replacement for Lukaku after a deal for Paulo Dybala fell through earlier in the week.
Before Sky Sports dismissed the idea later in the day by saying: ‘United held tentative discussions over the transfer of the 33-year-old Croatian forward but have decided not to pursue the deal any further’.
And now Gazzetta dello Sport shed more light on why a potential move didn’t come about.
The Italian newspaper claims that the approach ‘didn’t come at the right time’ for Mandzukic with a formal offer not reaching Juve and the player until the night before the deadline.
Mandzukic decided to ‘sleep on it’ but after discussing with family and friends he decided against the idea of a last-minute move.
The report via Sport Witness adds that the Croatian saw the late approach as slightly desperate and he would have preferred it to have come earlier in the window.