Man Utd transfer: Euro giants to ‘offer’ ex-PL duo in swap deal for Joshua Zirkzee

Joe Williams
Man Utd forward Joshua Zirkzee
Joshua Zirkzee could swap places with Danilo and Douglas Luiz.

Serie A giants Juventus are prepared to offer former Premier League duo Douglas Luiz and Danilo to Man Utd for Joshua Zirkzee in January, according to reports.

The Red Devils have made a terrible start to the new Premier League season with Erik ten Hag losing his job after winning just three of the opening nine matches.

New manager Ruben Amorim took his first training session at Man Utd less than a fortnight ago after interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy added four points to their total during his two games in charge.

Amorim drew his first match in charge 1-1 against Ipswich Town on Sunday with Marcus Rashford’s opener cancelled out by a deflected long-range effort from Omari Hutchinson.

Man Utd are now 12th in the Premier League table with only Everton, Crystal Palace and Southampton scoring fewer goals than the Red Devils so far this season.

Rashford now has two Premier League goals this term, while Rasmus Hojlund and Zirkzee both have one each, with the latter coming in for a lot of criticism after his summer move from Bologna.

There have already been reports that INEOS and some of the Man Utd board view Zirkzee as a ‘lost cause’ with the Red Devils looking to ship him out in January.

The Netherlands international has been linked with a number of Serie A clubs, including Juventus, and now the Old Lady are reportedly set to ramp up their interest in January.

Italian website Calciomercato claims that talks between Juventus and Man Utd ‘could be started to bring’ to take Zirkzee to Turin with ex-Man City defender Danilo and former Aston Villa midfielder Luiz possible makeweights in a deal.

It is said Juventus’ transfer priority with Danilo ‘may not be so much a financial gain from his transfer as saving on his salary’ and a potential transfer for Luiz is also ‘a utopia’ currently.

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The report adds that a loan deal away from Juventus ‘maybe back in the Premier League and maybe in exchange’ for Zirkzee could be on the cards for the Brazilian duo.

Amorim, who won his second match as Man Utd boss by coming back from 2-1 down to beat Bodo/Glimt 3-2 in the Europa League group stage on Thursday, held a pre-match press conference on Friday ahead of the Red Devils’ match at Old Trafford against Everton.

When asked about Mason Mount, Amorim told reporters: “He is working really hard. You have to understand the human also. He wants this really bad. That is the most important thing. He proved to all of you he is a talented player.

“He was a European champion. We believe a lot in him. He has to stay fit. All the guys in the team are quality players. They had to improve. He did a great job. You see some moments details where you can see Mason Mount is a proper footballer. We believe a lot in him. I especially believe a lot in Mason Mount.”

Amorim was then asked what he expects against Everton, to which he responded: “Win. I am hoping to win. It is going to be a different match with a lot of fighting, long balls, second balls.

“A quality coach who understands the league and the moment of the opponents. We need to have the ball because we have a short time to recover and we need to rotate the team. I hope for a win and see different things in my team, improve like we did from Ipswich to now, with Everton, without training. I expect to see different things.”