Manchester United agree personal terms with Serie A hotshot who Stefano Pioli labelled a ‘great player’
According to an exclusive report from CaughtOffside, Manchester United have agreed personal terms with Bologna striker Joshua Zirkzee.
On the back of Anthony Martial’s departure at the end of last season, the Red Devils are extremely thin in the striker department with Rasmus Hojlund as the only recognised No.9. Marcus Rashford also remains an option up top but he prefers playing off the left in a front three. Heading into the summer transfer window, INEOS had made signing a striker to support Hojlund one of their priorities and are now closing in on Joshua Zirkzee.
CaughtOffside claims Manchester United have moved ahead of AC Milan in the race to sign the Bologna star after the Serie A club’s reluctance to satisfy his agent’s commissions. It is believed that talks are underway with Bologna over how the 20-time English champions would prefer to pay Zirkzee’s £34m release clause.
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Arsenal have also shown an interest in the 23-year-old, who is currently with the Netherlands squad at the 2024 European Championships. However, the report adds that Zirkzee will reject any offer that could arrive from Arsenal as he has set his heart on a move to Manchester United.
This is a positive update from Man United’s perspective and shows how far we have come in persuading Zirkzee and his agent Kia Joorabchian to join Erik ten Hag’s forces ahead of next season. The team’s struggles in front of the goal and a lack of competition for Hojlund have made the signing of a striker paramount this summer, and Zirkzee would be a good fit with former AC Milan boss Stefano Pioli calling him a ‘great player’ last season after he scored in Bologna’s 2-2 draw with Milan in January.
The Dutch national posted 11 goals and four assists in 34 league games last season, helping Bologna finish fourth in Serie A and subsequently qualify for the Champions League. While the Red Devils view him as an out-and-out goalscorer, Zirkzee is more of a hybrid between a No.9 and No.10 and would provide Ten Hag’s attack a different dimension than Hojlund on the pitch.
He is a huge talent who has the mix of speed, technical qualities and physical attributes to succeed in the Premier League. The ex-Bayern Munich man would also fill in Martial’s void in the squad and boost Man United’s attack that struggled for goals this past campaign.
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All in all, our club agreeing personal terms with Zirkzee is great news. Let’s hope we quickly sort out the details regarding the payment structure of his release clause and make the Dutchman INEOS’ first signing of the summer transfer window.