Juventus star Mandzukic rejected chance to join Manchester United

Bengaluru, August 28: Juventus and Croatia striker Mario Mandzukic reportedly turned down a summer approach from Manchester United despite Jose Mourinho urging him to join the Red Devils.

The 32-year-old has been a key player for the Old Lady since his move from Atletico Madrid in 2015, and is claimed to have rejected a move to join the Red Devils.

As per Italian outlet Calciomercato, the Special One was desperate to bring the Croatian international to Old Trafford. The Italian news outlet have reported that the ex-Chelsea boss had identified Mandzukic as a top priority, but the player was persuaded to stay in Turin by Massimiliano Allegri.

They claim that the Juve manager guaranteed him that he would still be a vital member of his squad, and that Mandzukic harbours a dream of winning the Champions League with the Bianconeri.

While he is also hopeful that he will be rewarded with a new contract from the Serie A champions.

The Croat superstar netted in the 2-0 win for Juventus against Lazio yesterday - his first goal of the new season.

Despite being a prolific goalscorer at Bayern Munich and Atletico in his one year in Spain, goals have been hard to come by for Mandzukic in Italy. He has failed to net more than 13 times in a single campaign while he mustered up just five league goals last term however a big reason behind that has been due to his playing in a much deeper role as mostly a wide target man.

The ex-Wolfsburg ace did however star for Croatia at the World Cup, scoring three goals in Russia, including in the 4-2 defeat against France in the final and scored an own goal in the final.

Mandzukic was understood to be a target of Mourinho as a backup to Romelu Lukaku while at Juventus, he is mostly a regular which might be the reason behind him rejecting the Red Devils.