Antonio Conte ‘green lights’ signing ‘unconvincing’ Man Utd star in January with transfer ‘approved’
According to reports, Napoli boss Antonio Conte has ‘approved’ signing another Manchester United star in January after he landed Scott McTominay.
The former Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur head coach returned to football ahead of the 2024/25 campaign as he joined Serie A giants Napoli.
Under Conte, Napoli were busy in the summer transfer market and spent over £20m to sign Scotland international McTominay from Man Utd.
The 28-year-old has proven to be a good signing for Napoli as he’s grabbed four goals and two assists in his 14 appearances for the Italian outfit.
Now, Conte is reportedly open to another raid on Man Utd as he is interested in signing Netherlands international Joshua Zirkzee.
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The forward was United’s first summer signing as they activated his £34m release clause to sign him from Serie A outfit Bologna.
Zirkzee’s time at Man Utd got off to a dream start. He scored in his Premier League debut as they beat Fulham 1-0.
However, the 23-year-old failed to kick on and has been heavily criticised for his performances this season.
Zirkzee ended his eleven-game goal drought in the Premier League earlier this month as he netted a brace in Man Utd’s 4-0 home win against Everton, but he remains under pressure and is reportedly one of the reasons why former sporting director Dan Ashworth was axed.
The Red Devils are being linked with several potential upgrades as they are reportedly scouring the market for a prolific goalscorer. This could open the door for Zirkzee to return to Italy and Napoli are among the clubs interested in him.
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A report in Italy claims Conte has ‘given the green light’ for Napoli to target Zirkzee ‘in January’ after he ‘would have signed him in the summer’.
Conte is said to have ‘approved the arrival of Zirkzee’ as he’s ‘asked for reinforcements’ when the winter transfer window opens.
‘The Napoli head coach has given the green light to the arrival of Joshua Zirkzee for the next winter transfer market season.
‘The striker is not convincing at Manchester United and would be happy with a return to Italy after his excellent spell last season with Bologna.
‘Conte already this summer wanted to focus on Zirkzee but the costs were prohibitive.’
Napoli are second in Serie A after 15 matches as they have been usurped by in-form Atalanta, who are unbeaten in 14 games across all competitions and have not lost since September. Conte’s side are currently two points adrift of the table-toppers.
