Man Utd, Arsenal target’s £34m summer transfer is his ‘inevitable fate’ as club ‘edge closer’ to signing
According to reports, Bologna striker Joshua Zirkzee will leave the Serie A club this summer amid interest from Manchester United and Arsenal.
The 23-year-old progressed through the ranks at Bayern Munich but left having failed to establish himself as a regular for the Bundesliga giants.
The Netherlands U21 international has spent the last two seasons in Serie A with Bologna. During the 2023/24 campaign, he grabbed 12 goals and seven assists in his 37 appearances for the Italian outfit.
Zirkzee‘s form for the Serie A side has fuelled speculation linking him with a move to the Premier League, with Arsenal and Man Utd mooted as potential destinations.
Arsenal are in the market for a striker who would compete with Kai Havertz as Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah are being linked with exits. Man Utd meanwhile requires competition for £64m signing Rasmus Hojlund.
Zirkzee has a £34m release clause in his contract but Man Utd have reportedly been given the ‘green light’ to sign a cheaper alternative, while Arsenal are understood to have suffered a double transfer blow.
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And according to our pals over at TEAMtalk, Arsenal and Man Utd are set to miss out on Zirkzee as the ‘full details’ of his proposed ‘mega move’ to AC Milan has been revealed.
The Serie A giants are said to be ‘edging closer’ to signing the Premier League-linked forward.
‘AC Milan have made decisive steps to beat Arsenal in the race for Zirkzee and, to date, the only thing that is still missing to finalize the accord with the Dutch player is the agreement on commissions with his agent Kia Joorabchian.
‘In the Premier League, Arsenal and United have shown the greatest interest in him, in Italy – as told – Milan have been in contact with his entourage for months, while in recent days Bayern Munich also seems to be back in the race given that Vincent Kompany has asked the German club to evaluate Joshua’s profile as a possible second striker to play alongside Harry Kane.
‘The departure from Bologna is an inevitable fate for Zirzkee, especially after the farewell of Thiago Motta.
‘The Dutch striker – disappointed not to be called up for Euro 2024 – still wants to play in the Champions League next season and, for this reason, United’s candidacy is now distant. Furthermore, in these last few weeks, Joshua’s preference seems to be to stay in Serie A and so Milan become – day after day – the favourite to sign him.
‘The Rossoneri, for their part, are doing their best: after many months of contact – Milan agreed in principle terms of the contract, with a five-year agreement with a salary set at €4.5/5m verbally accepted by the Dutch player.
‘There are no issues between the clubs, as Milan decided to trigger the release clause included in the contract with Bologna. What is missing is the agreement on agent commissions: the Rossoneri don’t want to exceed €8/10m, while the request of around €15m from Kia Joorabchian is still valid to date.’
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