---
title: "Aston Villa: Dean Smith’s side turned down by Mario Mandzukic"
canonical: "https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/aston-villa-transfer-news-mario-mandzukic/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Nathan Linley"
section: "Aston Villa"
published: "2020-10-30T20:30:11Z"
modified: "2020-10-30T20:30:11Z"
---

# Aston Villa: Dean Smith’s side turned down by Mario Mandzukic

**[Aston Villa](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/premier-league/aston-villa/) made an approach for the former Bayern Munich and Juventus striker Mario Mandzukic, which was rejected by the player, according to reports.**

### Mandzukic targetted by the Villains

The 34-year-old is currently a free agent after he was released by the Qatari side Al-Duhail SC, where he scored once from just seven appearances with the club ([TransferMarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/mario-mandzukic/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/34572/verein/26091)).

But many will remember him from his time in the Bundesliga and Serie, where he was at the top of his game and made a name of himself across Europe. His most successful spell was with Juventus, where he found the back of the net on [44](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/mario-mandzukic/leistungsdatenverein/spieler/34572) occasions from [162](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/mario-mandzukic/leistungsdatenverein/spieler/34572) outings.

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But with Villa having signed Ollie Watkins from Brentford during the summer, Dean Smith was reportedly on the hunt for another striker and was willing to bring the 89-cap Croatia international to Villa Park.

That’s according to [Gianluca Di Marzio](https://gianlucadimarzio.com/it/bologna-mandzukic-calciomercato), who stated that he turned down both Villa and West Ham as he would prefer a return to Italy.

The report does not go into detail as to why Mandzukic was not interested – however the likes of Bologna, Benevento and Fiorentina have been named as the Italian sides that are also keen to acquire his services.

### Speaks volumes

Let’s for forget, Villa were only promoted back into the Premier League at the end of the 2018/19 campaign. Showing this level of ambition echoes exactly where they want to be in the near future.

Mandzukic was in the Bayern squad that won the Champions League at Wembley in [2013](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/mario-mandzukic/erfolge/spieler/34572) and reached the World Cup final in Russia [five years later](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/44754965).

He has tonnes of experience at the highest level and would have been a magnificent swoop if Villa managed to pull off this deal.

That being said, he is still without a club and there is still every chance that they could go back in for him at a later date.

***In other news, [BBC Sport pundit predicts Villa to struggle against Southampton](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/aston-villa-news/aston-villa-mark-lawrenson-southampton/).***