Manchester United landed three big attacking fish in the previous summer transfer window, signing RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko, right winger Bryan Mbeumo after he scored 20 goals with Brentford, and the insanely gifted playmaker Matheus Cunha to transform their attack.
Under Michael Carrick, Manchester United are finally beginning to show the true signs of a turn around as a club, as they just beat the runaway Premier League leaders Arsenal 3-2 in their biggest statement making win of the 2025/26 season thus far.
And it appears Manchester United are not done dreaming of big moves yet. They are being linked with an outside shot to steal away the world class playmaker Cole Palmer from Chelsea, and there is an arguably even more talented young attacking baller to get their hopes up for.
Kenan Yildiz is worth going all in for
Kenan Yildiz has been a sensation at Juventus since forcing his way into Max Allegri’s starting lineup a couple of years ago, and the former Bayern Munich prospect is now proudly wearing Alessandro Del Piero’s No. 10 as the clear star of a still disappointing team, even under Luciano Spalletti.
What could lead to Juve heartache – and there has been plenty of that since Cristiano Ronaldo left – is if Yildiz does not re-sign with the Old Lady. Negotiations remain slow as both sides are far apart, with Juve playing the role of cheap misers again.
According to a new report from La Gazzetta dello Sport’s Filippo Cornacchia, the deal for Turkish league striker Youssef En-Nesyri falling apart has led Juventus to make an approach for a new striker target in Manchester United backup Joshua Zirkzee, who is now wholly expendable after a poor start to life at Old Trafford.
Not a fit for Manchester United, Zirkzee has struggled to transition to the Premier League, but like current Napoli star Rasmus Hojlund, he was great in Serie A before that at a smaller club (Bologna) and could also rebound strongly with a move to Italy.
Juventus are going for a lot of mid level transfer targets like Zirkzee, and so it would be especially dreamy for Manchester United if they were to be the ones to use Zirkzee as a makeweight to win the negotiations for Yildiz.
Tottenham Hotspur have been linked, but we all know, like with Antoine Semenyo and Mbeumo, that they do not stand a chance for special targets like this one. Arsenal are worth worrying about, but the renewed interest in Zirkzee from Juventus gives Manchester United hope that they can use the former Bayern Munich prospect as a bullet in their chamber for Yildiz.
Joe Soriano is the editor of The Trivela Effect and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2010. He’s led top digital communities like The Real Champs (Real Madrid) and has run sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. He also helped manage NFL Spin Zone and Daily DDT, covering the NFL and pro wrestling.