Former Juventus and Bayern Munich star Mario Mandžukić turned down the chance to join Aston Villa as he wanted an exciting adventure elsewhere, claimed transfer expert Fabrizio Romano on the Here We Go Podcast.
The 34-year-old is currently a free agent, having last been on the books of Qatar Stars League club Al-Duhail. As he has won titles in Germany, Italy and also has been a World Cup finalist, Mandžukić could have been a good addition to the Villa side.
However, it is likely that Villa Park was just not an attractive destination for the veteran. Despite having had a promising start to the current Premier League season, Dean Smith’s side only narrowly avoided relegation from the Premier League last season.
Many predicted that they would face yet another relegation battle this season.
In the end, the failure to land Mandžukić has not been a major blow for Villa. They did manage to sign Ollie Watkins from Brentford. The 24-year-old has proven to be a huge hit in the Premier League. He has so far scored six goals from eight league games for Villa.
“He had a bid from (the) Premier League,” said Romano.
“It was three or four weeks ago, from Aston Villa. They were trying to sign him as a free agent and Mario Mandzukic said ‘no’.
“He wants an important project. He will have a lot of offers but, with Aston Villa, he said ‘no’.”