Amid mounting speculation Joshua Zirkzee could return to Italy in January, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has dropped definitive updates on the stances of Manchester United and their striker.
Zirkzee has endured a slow start to life at Man Utd following his £36.5m arrival from Bologna over the summer. The Dutch international has returned figures of one goal and one assist in 12 appearances, though that assist did come in Zirkzee’s most recent outing in the Europa League clash with Fenerbahce.
TuttoMercatoWeb have talked up a potential loan return to Serie A by way of Juventus in January. That was followed by CalcioMercato who claimed Zirkzee would be on board with a quickfire return to Italy.
The speculation prompted transfer guru Fabrizio Romano to weigh in on the matter and the trusted reporter has cleared up the rumours once and for all.
“Joshua Zirkzee was very happy in Italy, Zirkzee did fantastic in Italy, but he strongly wanted to go to Manchester United,” declared Romano via his YouTube channel.
“Zirkzee decided to go to Man Utd, it was three months ago… so to think that Zirkzee is already planning to leave the club and try something different, this is something that Zirkzee is not doing. He is fully focused on Man Utd.”
Romano went on to conclude Zirkzee is taking time to adapt to the tougher Premier League, though doubled down on the belief Zirkzee will NOT ask to leave.
“This is something that Zirkzee is not doing,” added Romano. “Complete and full focus on Manchester United.”
Crucially for the player, Romano also noted Man Utd are prepared to wait for Zirkzee to prove his worth and won’t rush into any snap judgements about his slow start thus far.
READ MORE: The key contract details of every Man Utd first-team player: Expiry dates, weekly wages, agents…
Zirkzee stays, but new striker signing possible
Zirkzee won’t be going anywhere for the foreseeable future, though that’s not to say Man Utd will be content with he and Rasmus Hojlund if they’re not producing the goods.
The pair have just three goals and one assist from a combined 19 appearances this term. The lack of end product from the centre-forward position has contributed to Man Utd scoring just seven Premier League goals this season. Only Crystal Palace (five) and Southampton and Ipswich Town (both six) have scored fewer.
Man Utd have been linked with moving for RB Leipzig and Slovenia ace, Benjamin Sesko, in the summer of 2025.
Sesko was targeted by Arsenal over the summer, though opted to sign a new deal with Leipzig that extended his stay until 2029.
However, the new agreement contains a ‘gentleman’s agreement’, with Fabrizio Romano revealing Leipzig won’t stand in Sesko’s way of a transfer in 2025 or 2026.
It is TEAMtalk’s understanding that if Sesko is on the move any time soon, Arsenal will once again be a firm fixture in any race.
Latest Man Utd news – New left-back / Frenkie de Jong hope
In other news, Man Utd have conducted frequent checks on Argentine left-back Julio Soler. A January swoop worth around £13m is possible. Soler is also on Liverpool’s radar.
Elsewhere, reports in Spain claim Barcelona have determined they’ll sell Frenkie de Jong if a bid of €70m is received.
The Dutchman is a long-term Man Utd target and per a separate report from Sport, Chelsea, Bayern Munich and PSG could provide competition if De Jong does leave the Camp Nou.
Finally, Nacional have remarkably claimed Marcus Rashford has instructed his agent to engineer a way out of Man Utd as soon as possible.
A January exit is not out of the question, with the report listing Aston Villa, Napoli and Marseille as clubs who’d welcome Rashford with open arms.
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