Joshua Zirkzee's Manchester United exit has hit a major obstacle after Juventus turned their attention elsewhere. The 25-year-old was widely expected to leave Old Trafford this summer following a disappointing couple of seasons at the club.
Zirkzee joined from Bologna for a fee of £36.5m in 2024 but has scored just nine goals since, only five of those coming in the Premier League. United were previously suggested to be happy to cut their losses on him this summer, and a return to Serie A was touted for the former Bayern Munich man.
Juventus close in on Kolo Muani
According to reports in Italy, Juventus are closing in on a permanent deal for Randal Kolo Muani for a fee of around £42m (€50m), while they have also completed a move for Bayer Leverkusen's Kerim Alajbegovic. With those two deals, a switch to Turin for Zirkzee now looks unlikely.
The only route to a move to Juventus appears to be a swap deal involving the Dutch forward and Francisco Conceição, though it remains to be seen whether United want to explore that avenue. There is also interest from Ajax and Premier League sides, but whether that becomes a tangible move is another matter.
That could leave Zirkzee in a very tricky spot, with Michael Carrick having signalled that the forward has little future at Old Trafford. Zirkzee was handed only a brief cameo in the pre-season win against Atletico Madrid, while Bryan Mbeumo started centrally and enjoyed a productive evening by scoring twice.
Mbeumo ready for the challenge
Speaking about his role, Mbeumo said: "Obviously, I'm lucky to be able to play a different position and I try to give my best. It depends on the games (where I play)."
He added: "We try to get ready for the first game of the season and we work really hard on the training so it's really important to have good results as well."
"Obviously I'm always really challenging myself every time and will never regret having this challenge."
Bayern stay interested in Sesko
Away from Zirkzee and Mbeumo, United could be left with a decision to make over Benjamin Sesko. According to reports in Germany, Bayern Munich remain interested in the former RB Leipzig man, although their focus for now remains on agreeing a new deal with star forward Harry Kane.
