Bologna sporting director Walter Sabatini has confirmed they plan to sign Marko Arnautovic.

The Austria international is set to join Bologna as a free agent and Sabatini says they'll sign the striker ahead of former Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa.

Sabatini told Radio Nettuno Bologna Uno: "Here, if there is a football man who recognises champions, it is (Sinisa) Mihajlović. He was himself a champion and played with them. It is absolutely not true that he rejected him (Diego Costa).

"The agent who released this news did not realise that he tried to hit Mihajlovic, who is in any case unassailable, and that he indirectly attacked Diego Costa too. In Mihajlovic's mind and in that of all of us there has always been Arnautovic but this does not mean that we could never rejected Diego Costa.

"When it was proposed we all raised the doubts of the case, which made us incline not to deepen the proposal. It was a market situation like there are so many but this time it touched a great champion. I'm angry with this pseudo agent ..."