Manchester United have closed the door on Joshua Zirkzee leaving the club in the winter window.
Just a couple of days ago it was reported in Italy that the forward was still pushing for the transfer. The 24-year-old is thought to have been keen on playing under Gian Piero Gasperini. In Italy there was a belief the manager’s system would suit the Dutchman.
Netherlands have qualified for the World Cup, and the Manchester United player still has hopes of making the squad. Ronald Koeman has shown he’s far from being one of Zirkzee’s biggest fans, and it’s going to be tough to change his mind. Nevertheless, there was confidence a few months in Italy could change that.
Initial reporting had AS Roma offering a loan with a conditional purchase obligation. That clause would have been triggered if the Serie A side qualified for the Champions League, and the value attached was €35-45m depending on reports.
Now that won’t be happening, according to AS Roma themselves.
Manchester United have closed the deal
Manchester United forward Joshua Zirkzee
Manchester United forward Joshua Zirkzee
The club’s sports director Frederic Massara was asked on Sunday about January business.
Quoted by SportMediaSet, he said: “Malen and Vaz are two strong players. One is a talent and the other is already established and can help us. A winger? There are 15 days left in the transfer window, so we’ll see how the situation evolves.
“Manchester United closed the (Zirkzee) deal pretty clearly a couple of weeks ago and have never reopened the conversation.”
Whether that’s related to Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United exit is unclear, however, there’s likely also Roma issues at play. Over the past week they’ve bought Donyell Malen from Aston Villa and Robinio Vaz from Marseille.
Roma are also trying to sign a central defender, and it’s unlikely they could have done all of that and secured Zirkzee with an obligation to buy.