Italian side AS Roma have begun prioritising Manchester United striker Joshua Zirkzee as they look to bolster their attack this January.
Roma currently sit at the top of Serie A, but to maintain their position, they have turned to Manchester United to bolster their squad depth.
Despite Joshua Zirkzee’s poor scoring record so far for Man United, and Roma being the lowest-scoring team in the top six of Italy, there is clearly something about the Dutchman they like.
Following recent rumours that Zirkzee had given the league leaders the green light, Roma have begun looking into a potential loan move for the United forward, putting the permanent transfer on hold as they attempt to avoid trouble with UEFA.
Zirkzee to Roma reports emerging
As relayed by GOAL, Italian outlet Corriere dello Sport believe that the Dutch forward has already given his approval to join AS Roma, meaning a move away from Manchester is looking very likely for the 24-year-old.
Due to UEFA’s financial restrictions, the club cannot register a permanent signing for €25–30 million in January, so their strategy shifted to a loan deal with a purchase option that can be exercised after the season ends, circumventing UEFA.
Zirkzee was not cheap for United, costing them around £36.5m in 2024, making the club still open to a sale, but would prefer an immediate permanent transfer.
However, with the player severely lacking game time in the Premier League, the Red Devils are increasingly likely to entertain Roma’s loan-plus-obligation structure.
Who benefits from this deal?
The glaringly obvious positive for Zirkzee moving to Roma is that they play the same formation that the Dutchman has been playing for almost a year now. A 3-4-3 formation, giving him the option to play as either the frontman or one of the attacking midfielders just behind the striker.
Zirkzee has struggled to find any truly consistent run of form in a Man United shirt so far in his career, struggling to adapt to the English game, and hindered by injuries when it seemed he was finally finding his feet, showing it is probably best for both parties that the player moves on.
He has struggled to find minutes this season, but due to an injury to both Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko; he was given a full 90 minutes against Everton, which turned out to be one of the worst team performances in a long time as they failed to score against the ten-man Toffees for over 70 minutes.
Read More: Manchester United ‘make’ initial Joshua Zirkzee transfer decision as major sale condition explained
Zirkzee may still struggle for game time in Serie A, as suitors AS Roma currently have a lot of firepower already across the front line.
With players such as on-form Matias Soule, Paulo Dybala, Leon Bailey, and more all fighting for the striker spot and the two attacking midfielder spots, the fight for minutes will be just as fierce as the one back at United.
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