Manchester United have reportedly held talks to bring Joshua Zirkzee to the Premier League after the £34 million Bologna striker made an ‘incredible leap’ forward in Serie A.
According to Florian Plettenberg, the German reporter who has watched Joshua Zirkzee’s post-Bayern Munich career with a great deal of interest, the Dutchman may be about to earn himself a second go at life at the summit of European football.
Talks between Manchester United and Bologna, he writes on X, have already taken place on the back of a superb half-season with the Rossoblu.
And, while a winter move appears unlikely to say the least, a £34 million release clause in Zirkzee’s contract means that a striker who has been likened to not only Erling Haaland but Zlatan Ibrahimovic too could soon be bringing his balletic brilliance to England’s north west.
Manchester United hold Joshua Zirkzee talks
“He can reach any level because he is a player who has made an incredible leap in quality, both technically and mentally in the last four months. In my opinion, he can reach very high levels,” Giovanni Sartori, Bologna’s technical director, says in quotes reported by Tuttomercatoweb.
“(Bayern) probably believed (in Zirkzee’s potential) less than us. We both did a good job. We hope that, now, he will continue to give us the satisfaction he is giving us.”
Zirkzee, who turned down a number of offers from Everton in the past, has hit the net eight times in 22 games this season. And while that is hardly a prolific return, there is more to the forward’s game than goals. Zirkzee is a creator as well as a finisher. A stylish, elegant and skilful footballer perhaps in the Dimitar Berbatov mould.
One who ‘makes the rest of the team play better’.
The new Zlatan Ibrahimovic?
“Seeing Joshua Zirkzee was the reason for my trip,” Belgian reporter Filip Joos tells Sporza, having recently travelled to Italy to watch the one-time Feyenoord and Bayern prospect in action.
“Really, the talent was oozing. He didn’t score a goal (in a 1-1 draw with Genoa). But those actions made my trip worth it. Now, everyone will pay attention to him.
“Zirkzee is really the real deal for me. He is actually a player for Manchester City, that type of football. Someone who makes the rest of the team play better.”
from United In Focus https://ift.tt/0mRp8T1