Man Utd put star ‘on exit ramp’ in first casualty of Amorim reign as Chelsea lead race for replacement
Man Utd have decided to allow summer signing Joshua Zirkzee to leave Old Trafford in the January transfer window, according to reports.
The Red Devils made five signings in the summer transfer window as they looked to give Erik ten Hag their full support after deciding to keep him on over the summer.
Zirkzee, Manuel Ugarte, Matthijs de Ligt, Leny Yoro and Noussair Mazraoui all joined before the end of the summer market but they have yet to have the impact the Man Utd hierarchy and fans were hoping.
Ten Hag was sacked after winning just three of the Red Devils’ opening nine Premier League matches with Ruben Amorim replacing him on Monday.
Man Utd are currently 13th in the Premier League after interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy added another four points to their Premier League total before leaving the club earlier this week.
Amorim will play a different formation to Ten Hag at Man Utd and there are concerns that he won’t have the players required to play that system straight away.
And one player who Amorim may not be keen on is Zirkzee with the 23-year-old Netherlands international struggling to adapt to the Premier League.
Zirkzee is failing to impact matches as hoped with one goal and one assist in 11 Premier League appearances this season as Rasmus Hojlund has recently taken his starting place in the team.
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Reports in Spain claim that Zirkzee ‘could return to Italy’ with Man Utd now putting the Dutchman ‘on the exit ramp’ ahead of the winter transfer window.
It is said that Zirkzee ‘has not managed to adapt to the demands of Old Trafford, where his performance is far from the expected level’ and ‘the possibility of an early exit is beginning to gain strength’.
Man Utd are ‘already considering options for Zirkzee’s future, which has sparked the interest of several clubs in Italy, who are closely monitoring his situation’.
It is understood that the Red Devils’ ‘initial intention was to develop him as a key player in their forward line, the possibility of Zirkzee finding a new direction in Italy is increasingly palpable’.
There have been a number of rumours about who Amorim’s first signing as Man Utd manager could be with Sporting Lisbon striker Viktor Gyokeres heavily linked.
But reports in Spain indicate that Premier League rivals Chelsea ‘appear to have taken the lead in the race’ to sign the Sweden international.
Gyokeres is ‘aiming to leave Portugal very soon’ and Chelsea’s ‘operation could be one of the most significant of the next market’.
