One of Manchester United’s stars is now edging closer to a move away after saying ‘yes’ to a Serie A giant.
Manchester United‘s five-game unbeaten run came to an end against Everton on Monday night after losing 1-0 to the Merseyside outfit at Old Trafford, with boos ringing around Old Trafford.
This loss zapped all the positive energy that had recently surrounded the club.
Rúben Amorim’s side had received a lot of praise for their attacking prowess and scoring goals recently. However, after a few injuries to Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Šeško, the forward line looked as blunt as last season.
There was an opportunity for one united star to lay a claim to a starting spot, but it seems that after the Everton game, he is closer to leaving than remaining.
Zirkzee says ‘yes’ to Roma.
After only playing a total of 90 minutes this season, Joshua Zirkzee finally received a recall to the starting XI for the first time this campaign against Everton.
With Šeško out for at least a month, and AFCON approaching, now seemed like the perfect time for the Dutchman to regain some form and sharpness with spots in the side opening up.
The entire side struggled, but despite playing the full 90, he failed to stamp his authority on the match, and now more reports are linking him away from the club to Roma.
According to Gazzetta Della Sport, Roma have placed a formal offer on the table for the striker. The reported offer is a loan with an obligation to buy should the Italian side achieve Champions League qualification.
Gazzeta also report that Zirkzee has said ‘yes’ to a move should the two clubs come to an agreement about the structure of the loan. It seems Zirkzee is “now closer” to joining Roma than staying at Old Trafford.
United afford to lose Zirkzee?
While he has not set the house on fire, losing Zirkzee would leave Amorim very light with forward options. With Cunha and Šeško out injured, the only other options aside from Zirkzee are Amad, Bryan Mbeumo and Mason Mount.
With the duo of Amad and Mbeumo set to go to AFCON, that leaves the club in a very precarious position with no first-team option as backup should an injury arrive.
Read more: Manchester United broke season record vs Everton and one star will be furious about it
Having Zirkzee gives flexibility as he can cover both the striker position and the No.10 spot, where he thrived last season.
Should the Dutchman leave, this highlights the need to be active in the January window to find short-term cover. Therefore, if players are promoted from the academy to fill in gaps, the full burden is not left on their shoulders, which has been the case for many youth team players who have been promoted across the last decade.
Make sure to follow UtdDistrict on X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok to never miss out on any of our Manchester United content. Our podcast, What the Devil?, is streamed live every Thursday at 14:00 pm (GMT) on the United View YouTube channel.