Juventus have initiated contact over the signing of Manchester United striker Joshua Zirkzee, while a a second report has assessed the likelihood of his replacement coming from PSG.
Zirkzee has struggled to make any meaningful level of impact since his £36.5m transfer from Bologna to Man Utd. The frontman was behind Rasmus Hojlund in the pecking order during the latter stages of Erik ten Hag’s reign. One of new boss Ruben Amorim’s first acts was to bypass both Zirkzee and Hojlund by selecting Marcus Rashford as the sole striker against Ipswich Town.
While it’s still early days, Zirkzee’s signing already has the feel of a move that all parties might come to regret. And according to Corriere dello Sport, a swift return to Serie A by way of Juventus could occur.
Juventus are in the market for a new frontman amid growing concerns Dusan Vlahovic must be sold. Vlahovic is out of contract in 2026 and as yet, there are no signs of an extension. Juve will sell while they still can rather than risk losing a highly valuable asset to free agency.
When running the rule over who Juventus are targeting, CDS claimed Juventus have already made an ‘active move’ for two strikers – Zirkzee and Udinese’s Lorenzo Lucca.
Clarifying precisely what that means, the report noted contacts with the agents of those players has been made.
Man Utd have been mentioned alongside a shock loan move for PSG’s Randal Kolo Muani in the event Zirkzee departs in the winter window.
But according to Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg, a Man Utd move for Kolo Muani is not hot.
Taking to X, Plettenberg stated: “Been told that rumors about Randal Kolo Muani and Manchester United are not currently hot. At the moment, there are no internal discussions or concrete ideas about a loan move in the winter.”
What the future holds for Joshua Zirkzee
Sources confirmed to us last week that Juventus are very much keen on Zirkzee and believe there could well be an opportunity there to sign the striker in the January window.
To that end, we have been informed thatJuventus’ sporting director Cristiano Giuntolirecently made a concrete approach to Zirkzee’s representatives but was bluntly informed that a dry loan with salary splitting is not a suitable solution for United.
However, while they would struggle to cover the cost of his transfer fee in the winter, they could still look into a possible loan-to-buy arrangement if all parties were in agreement.
It had also been reported that the Bianconeri would ask United to cover a portion of the star’s wages to help facilitate a deal. However, we can confirmthis is not an option that the Premier League giants are currently considering.
In addition, we can also reveal that Zirkzee has not asked to leave, even if his relationship with Juventus boss Thiago Motta is excellent. Motta was previously Zirkzee’s manager at Bologna.
Nonetheless, the writing does appear to be on the wall for Zirkzee at Old Trafford.
He came off the bench in Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Ipswich and his tendency to drop deep and try and build the attacks rather than finish them is understood to be of frustration to Amorim.
And the new United boss had a warning for the player in the immediate aftermath of that Portman Road stalemate.
“I think that [decision-making] is a concern, you don’t need to coach them at this level,” Amorim toldSky Sports.
“You have to keep the ball and know the momentum to put the ball in front. Sometimes you feel that you can’t keep the ball and you [have to] put the ball in front.
“Then you have like we are in the end of the game, we were around the box with two strikers. Josh [Zirkzee] has to understand that he has to go to the box to have the crosses.
“So we are doing some things that were not at the right moment, so that is something we have to address.
“Sometimes people talk about the 3-4-3, but that is not the concern, the system is the system but the understanding of the game is what we have to improve a lot in this area.”
Latest Man Utd news – Hernandez,Kvaratskhelia, Garnacho
In other news, Sky Germany have reported signing a new left-sided defender is Ruben Amorim’s No 1 transfer priority.
Alphonso Davies of Bayern Munich is the desired target, but should the Canadian elude then, United have AC Milan’s Theo Hernandez in mind as a superstar alternative.
Elsewhere,Man Utd are reportedly preparing what has been described as a ‘serious’ offer to convince Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to ditch Napoli and move to Old Trafford, amid claims they are ready to table amammoth salary package to the Georgian’s entourage.
Finally, Amorim has been told he’s wasting ‘raw talent’ Alejandro Garnacho by deploying him in one of the two No 10 roles behind the striker. According to Robbie Savage, Garnacho is far more suited to one of the wing-back roles.
