Two years. £36.5 million. Nine goals in 75 appearances.
It hasn’t worked.
Everyone inside Old Trafford knows it. Michael Carrick knows it. Joshua Zirkzee knows it.
And now, a Serie A giant has come in with the offer that could resolve the situation for everyone.
Manchester United enter advanced talks to loan Joshua Zirkzee to Juventus
According to The Sun, Juventus are in advanced talks with Manchester United over a loan deal for Zirkzee, with a £30 million option to buy included in the proposed structure and the player’s representatives already responding positively to the approach.
The deal has become Juventus’s priority after negotiations for Randal Kolo Muani from PSG collapsed.
Leaving the Italian giants needing a centre-forward urgently, having already lost both Dusan Vlahovic and Lois Openda from their attacking options.
Zirkzee was always on their radar.
Even before he left Bologna for Old Trafford in 2024, Juventus had tracked him closely.
The circumstances of his Manchester United career have made the move even easier to facilitate.
He started just five Premier League matches under the combined tenures of Ruben Amorim and Michael Carrick last season.
Nine goals in 75 appearances is not the return a £36.5 million striker is expected to produce.
The club believe a £30 million option to buy is a fair reflection of his current value.
And see the loan as a way to recover a significant portion of their investment while giving the player the opportunity to rebuild.
A return to Serie A makes complete sense for Zirkzee personally.
He left Bologna as the competition’s Young Player of the Year.
Intelligent movement, technical combination play and link-up ability that was perfectly suited to Italian football, even if those same qualities were consistently exposed in the physical, relentless nature of the Premier League.
Juventus chief football officer Frederic Massara is driving the deal.
Having previously been at Roma during the January window when that club made their own approach for Zirkzee.
And personal terms between player and club have already been agreed.
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