Fabrizio Romano reveals deep secrets about a crazy week at manchester united

Fabrizio Romano now has a lot more time on his hands now that the transfer window has closed, but he’s still giving us juicy Manchester United information.

Few working in football media had as busy a summer as the transfer specialist, who kept us updated every step of the way when it came to the transfer sagas around Cristiano Ronaldo, Frenkie de Jong, and Antony.

Now, of course, we know how everything panned out in the end. Ronaldo couldn’t find a suitable destination, De Jong stayed put in Barcelona despite the La Liga giants accepting United’s bid and Antony eventually moved on deadline day following protracted negotiations with Ajax.

But what about the details behind the scenes, and the deals that came close to happening but never materialized? Romano has us covered in his latest YouTube update, in which he describes an “absolutely crazy week” last month.

“That crazy week was between the 15th and the 21st of August,” began the Italian reporter.

“What happened? The week before, Manchester United started negotiations for two players, in a really difficult moment for their market, because Antony was not available. They had some issues in many negotiations.

“And so that week they submitted proposals for two players. One for Adrien Rabiot, an official bid accepted by Juventus. €18million plus add-ons. And the other one is for Marko Arnautovic. The first one was rejected by Bologna, but Man United was preparing a second proposal.

“Two deals, absolutely on for Manchester United. But what happened? During the following week, that crazy week, Rabiot turns down Man United because of the salary. Man United says no to Rabiot because of his salary request. And Marko Arnautovic collapses because the fans were absolutely crazy about that story.

“The two deals collapsed. And what happened? Guys, trust me, more than 15 players have been offered to Manchester United that week. I can mention some of them.

“Like Memphis Depay on a free transfer, Moises Caicedo was a player considered by Man United for midfield as Rabiot was no longer joining. Leandro Paredes was discussed between Man Utd and PSG as they were looking for a solution, but Man United decided to go for something different.

“Weston McKennie, another player offered to Manchester United, but they were interested in a different type of player for the midfielder. But also other kinds of positions.

“For the winger, because the Antony deal was still in standby, Yannick Carrasco was offered to Manchester United. Only on a permanent deal, not on loan, Manchester United wanted to focus on something different.

“Christian Pulisic was discussed between Man United and Chelsea, but in that case, Man United decided to try for a loan and Chelsea had no intention to accept a loan deal. Also, Hirving Lozano, a Mexican player from Napoli, offered, but they decided to say no.”