Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images

News

HomeNewsAston VillaEnglish Premier League

Report: Free agent Mario Mandzukic rejected advance from Aston Villa

Lee Clarke

Tue 1 December 2020 12:40, UK

A report from Italian news outlet has claimed that legendary Croatian striker Mario Mandzukic has turned down a move to the Premier League with Aston Villa.

Boss Dean Smith has overseen a decent start to the 2020/21 campaign and was thought to be keen to take the experienced frontman to bolster his Villa Park attack.

Mandzukic is currently without a club having left Al-Duhail back in July and has also been approached by Bologna, Fiorentina and Milan in the last few weeks.

Despite being 34 there is enough to suggest that Mandzukic could still do a job for someone, given his experience and professionalism that have served him so well during his career.

His last stint in Europe came at Juventus where he scored 44 goals and registered 17 assists in 162 appearances.

The target man has also played for Dinamo Zagreb, Wolfsburg, Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid during a long career at the top level.

Mandzukic stuck a dagger through the heart of English supporters in 2018 when he netted the winning goal against England in the World Cup semi-final.

He’s enjoyed a successful career on the international stage, scoring 33 goals in 89 outings for his country.

Smith opted to sign young, British talent during the summer transfer window and it’s a policy that seems to have served the team well so far.

TBR View – Mandukic would have been solid short-term signing

Although the Croatian is coming towards the end of his career he’d have been a tremendous player to compete with Ollie Watkins for a place in attack.

At 34, Smith wouldn’t have been able to bank on Mandzukic in every game but he’s proven throughout his career that he knows where the net is.

He will now go down as a link for the history books and the striker might have proved a decent addition for Smith on a short-term basis.