Man Utd summer signing incredibly tipped to LEAVE in January as three Euro giants circle

Joshua Zirkzee could leave Manchester United as early as January after a disappointing start to his Old Trafford career, the Italian press have claimed.

According to Calciomercato, if Zirkzee’s troublesome spell continues then he might follow in the footsteps of Romelu Lukaku by leaving a Premier League club early and returning to Italy. Lukaku played for Man Utd between 2017 and 2019, while he spent just one season back at Chelsea before returning to Inter Milan on loan in the 2022-23 season.

There is supposedly the possibility of an early ‘separation’ between Man Utd and Zirkzee as the Netherlands striker has netted just one goal in 10 appearances for the Red Devils so far.

Following a £36.5million (€43.5m / US$47.8m) move from Bologna in July, Zirkzee marked his Man Utd debut by scoring a late winner against Fulham in his team’s first Premier League match of the campaign.

But Zirkzee has failed to build on that short, game-changing display and has come in for criticism in recent weeks.

Calciomercato state that AC Milan, Juventus and Roma are all keeping tabs on the 23-year-old’s situation. Those three Italian giants may swoop in if they discover that Man Utd are open to selling Zirkzee in the winter transfer window.

Milan were very keen on landing Zirkzee in the summer. The Rossoneri missed out on him to Man Utd but could soon be given another opportunity to strike a deal.

Joshua Zirkzee transfer value has dropped

Sources have confirmed to TEAMtalk transfer insider Rudy Galetti that the Man Utd hierarchy are frustrated with the fact that Zirkzee’s value has dropped since his summer switch, and they may be open to loaning him out in the future.

TEAMtalk can also confirm that Juventus and Milan are indeed interest in the attacker. Thiago Motta would like to reunite with him at Juve, as the pair struck up a great relationship during their time together at Bologna.

Milan, meanwhile, have been monitoring Zirkzee ever since they missed out on him during the summer and are hopeful that they can snare him for a reduced price following the end of the 2024-25 campaign.

Zirkzee leaving Old Trafford as early as 2025 would leave many Man Utd fans shocked. While club chiefs Dan Ashworth, Jason Wilcox and Sir Jim Ratcliffe want to engineer a successful long-term project by developing young players, they appreciate that things simply have to get better on the pitch, and fast.

Speculation surrounding Zirkzee’s future comes after Paul Scholes criticised several of the new Man Utd arrivals recently.

Having already called Man Utd’s big expenditure ‘ridiculous’, Scholes said of the striker situation: “In forward areas especially, I just don’t think the quality is there.

“We go back to the most successful teams, they’re capable of scoring goals. What have we scored? Five goals in seven games.

“Now we had three or four forwards who could get you 20 goals so you’re looking at 80 goals a season there and I just don’t see that in the forward line at Manchester United.

“Look, [Rasmus] Hojlund does alright but is he gonna score you 20 goals? I don’t think so.

“Zirkzee… what is he? Is he a No.9 or a No.10? Is he going to get you 20 goals? I don’t think so.

“I think they’re relying more on hope than actual proven quality and they spent so much money as well.”

Man Utd round-up: Ten Hag sack latest, Rooney verdict

Zirkzee is not the only one under pressure to perform at Man Utd, as his manager Erik ten Hag is at risk of being sacked.

There are conflicting reports surrounding the Dutch coach’s future. The Daily Mirror claim that senior Man Utd officials will meet today (Tuesday) to make a final decision on Ten Hag, with Thomas Tuchel the clear favourite to replace him.

The Sun, though, state that Ten Hag is ‘confident’ of keeping his job despite Man Utd’s poor form and has gone away on a short break in the knowledge that he will still be Red Devils manager when he returns.

Meanwhile, Man Utd icon Wayne Rooney has suggested that the club needs a stronger core of British players if they are to get back to challenging for Premier League titles.

“I think for everyone who wants Manchester United to do well, it’s been frustrating,” he said.

“Manchester United are 14th in the Premier League, it’s not where they want to be. I think what United have done in the last few years, they’ve changed the managers and they’ve tried to go with a new manager and try and rebuild, but whatever one they’ve brought in hasn’t quite worked.

“Erik ten Hag, he’s an experienced manager, I know he’s trying extremely hard to get it right.

“I think the culture of the football club is… we’ve seen a lot of players who are coming in, a lot of foreign players. I think Manchester United’s identity was always a good core of British players and I think that’s maybe missing a little bit, so players who can control the dressing room and help the manager out when they’re going through a difficult period.

“So I think that’s a big change, if you like, from what I’ve seen over the last few years, but we hope Ten Hag can turn it around and get them back challenging.”

How have Man Utd’s summer signings done so far?

By Samuel Bannister

Joshua Zirkzee

Came off the bench to score on his debut against Fulham with the winning goal, but has drawn a blank in his subsequent nine appearances and has only completed 90 minutes once. Has shown some glimpses of talent, such as against Crystal Palace, but has generally been quite poor, lacking pace to run in behind and not being a goal threat.

Leny Yoro

Suffered an ankle injury towards the end of pre-season, so has been unable to make his competitive debut for Man Utd yet.

Matthijs de Ligt

A signing that divided opinion, De Ligt has gone on to fall somewhere in between the best and worst expectations of him. Has been strong at set pieces, but his lack of pace has been exposed and his positioning was all over the place in the defeat to Tottenham. Overall, he falls into the ‘OK’ category so far – nothing more, nothing less.

Noussair Mazraoui

The least-heralded of Man Utd’s summer signings, but also arguably their most consistent since joining, having started all of their Premier League and Europa League matches so far. The right-back has been comfortable on the ball, aiding United’s build-up play and standing out as one of their best players this season.

Manuel Ugarte

Has been poor whenever called upon, even losing lots of duels against Barnsley in a big Carabao Cup win.