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Aston Villa have made a call to Manchester United about a deal to sign Joshua Zirkzee in the transfer window, according to Fabrizio Romano.
The Villans have seen the core of their squad ripped apart despite qualifying for the Champions League after Lucas Digne, Youri Tielemans, Morgan Rogers, and Ezri Konsa have all left, while Emi Martinez is expected to move on and Ollie Watkins has emerged as a firm target for Saudi giants Al Hilal too.
Unai Emery has been busy strengthening the squad, bringing in Johan Manzambi, Joao Gomez, Alejandro Garnacho, Matteo Ruggeri, Zion Suzuki, and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, but the club are still looking at potential forward additions, which has led them to look at Man Utd.
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According to Romano, one player who is attracting interest is Old Trafford forward Zirkzee, as he finds himself behind Benjamin Sesko and Bryan Mbeumo in the centre-forward pecking order under Michael Carrick.
Speaking in his latest YouTube video, Romano revealed that the Europa League winners made a call in recent days about a deal for the Netherlands international, although their interest is at a very early stage.
"Baleba is done, but Manchester United are not done," he said. "Man Utd are looking for a left-back, and then lets see what is going to happen in the next days for the Joshua Zirkzee situation.
Zirkzee has struggled for regular game time at Man Utd since joining from Bologna in a £34.5m deal two summers ago, scoring just 9 goals in 75 appearances for the club across all competitions.
But the 25-year-old has enjoyed a strong pre-season, scoring twice, and could look to move on to play more regularly after losing his place in the Netherlands squad and missing out on a chance to play at the World Cup this summer.
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Joshua Zirkzee Man Utd Stats
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Statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt
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After seeing their first-team squad ripped apart this summer, Aston Villa know that they need to bring in players who can make an immediate impact, and that is what they have tried to do.
Zirkzee has got Premier League experience, but his arrival would still be a major gamble considering his goal record since making the move to England. If Watkins is to leave, they need someone to come in who can immediately hit the ground running and score goals to win them games. There's a big question mark over whether or not Zirkzee could do that.
Nicolas Jackson is another player who has been linked with a move to Villa Park, but it's clear that the club will need to be busy in the coming days to ensure they aren't left short.