Report: Manchester United open to negotiations over Zirkzee

SOLNA, SWEDEN - AUGUST 01: Joshua Zirkzee of Manchester United warms up during the pre-season friendly match between Manchester United and Atletico de Madrid at Strawberry Arena on August 01, 2026 in Solna, Sweden. (Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images)

The arrival of Randal Kolo Muani last week didn’t mean that Juventus’ search for strikers was over.

Given the uncertain place of Jonathan David in the squad, Jeffe Ekhator’s status as a development project, and the uncertainty of everything around Arkadiuz Milik, Giovanni Carnevali is still on the lookout for someone to beef up the depth chart behind the Frenchman at the striker spot. Mateo Pellegrino’s name has been bandied about a lot this summer, but another is also coming into focus—one that’s been on Juve’s radar before.

Joshua Zirkzee was considered a major target for Juventus two summers ago after a sparkling season at Bologna under Thiago Motta. But the economics of bringing him to Turin weren’t in the Bianconeri’s favor—to say nothing of the fact that Bologna were pretty salty about the fact that Juve had just poached Motta off of the Rossoblu’s bench.

The Dutchman, a product of Bayern Munich’s academy, ended up going to Manchester United for about €42 million. Unfortunately, the move hasn’t come off for either side. Amid the general instability of the Red Devils, he’s only managed nine goals and four assists over two seasons and spent long stretches left out of the matchday squads.

The idea of him moving to Juve or somewhere else on loan has popped up over the last few transfer windows, but United have been resistant to moving him. Now they’re more inclined, but given what they paid still won’t let him go for cheap.

But reports now indicate that United are willing to engage more actively with Juventus, who are said to be the player’s preferred destination. Talks are expected to pick up in the coming days.

If those negotiations are going to be successful, it’s likely to come in the form of a loan with an option to buy, given the outlay Juve have already spent on Kolo Muani and Kerim Alajbegovic. If they can find a formula that works, a return to Serie A could well be in the cards for Zirkzee. We’ll see how things develop as the weekend progresses.

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