Speculation over Joshua Zirkzee’s future at Manchester United is already underway.
Joshua Zirkzee has struggled for game time at Manchester United all season, and his situation has not changed under Michael Carrick.
Zirkzee is being seen as an attainable target for potential buyers in the summer, due to his lack of action.
According to Italian reporter Matteo Moretto, interest is already bubbling up as clubs begin to prepare for the summer transfer window.
He has claimed there is interest in Zirkzee from Italy and England.
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Joshua Zirkzee latest
Joshua Zirkzee signed for Manchester United from Bologna in 2024 for £36 million. He was one of the best players in Serie A in 2023/24, with the Red Devils beating competition from AC Milan for his signature.
Zirkzee’s big reputation in Italy will present options for him this summer, and reporter Matteo Moretto claims this is his preferred option.
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Speaking on YouTube, Moretto said: “His priority is clearly Italy, although a couple of Premier League clubs are already inquiring.
“Zirkzee has enjoyed playing in Italy, he knows the league, and several Italian clubs are monitoring his situation.”
Moretto went on to name the interested parties, also claiming there is interest from Borussia Dortmund.
“The teams pushing the most are Tottenham Hotspur on one side – so keep an eye on Tottenham, who are expected to stay in the Premier League before making their move – then Aston Villa, and also Borussia Dortmund.”
Over the past two seasons United have offloaded Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho to Aston Villa, but only on loan deals.
Moretto adds that Juventus are the Italian club showing the strongest impact at the moment.
United’s aim when securing a Zirkzee exit will be to get a permanent fee up front. This has often proven to be difficult with Italian sides too.
One exception was the sale of Scott McTominay to Napoli, but this past summer they only offered to sign Rasmus Hojlund on loan, with an obligation to buy under conditions of qualification for the Champions League.
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Zirkzee was close to Roma
Joshua Zirkzee’s future was a topic of speculation heading into the winter transfer window, before Manchester United made clear that he was not permitted to leave.
Moretto claims that there were talks with Roma that came close to putting the framework of a deal in place.
He said: “During the winter, Zirkzee was very close, if not extremely close, to joining Roma. Then, of course, the Africa Cup of Nations and both United’s and Zirkzee desire to continue together changed the situation a bit.
“But Roma had come very close: they had reached a basic agreement with Zirkzee, though the parties never finalised the deal. United wanted to keep Zirkzee available until the end of January, while Roma didn’t want to wait and moved on to other targets.”
There are eight Premier League games left this season for Zirkzee to try and make an impression at United if he wants to stay.
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