Manchester United have reportedly set an asking price of £30million for Joshua Zirkzee, with Ruben Amorim's AC Milan among the clubs showing interest. Fellow Italian sides Juventus, Fiorentina and Roma have all been linked with bringing Zirkzee back to Italy over the past 12 months, but no deal has materialised.
Zirkzee's resurgence at Old Trafford
Zirkzee appeared surplus to requirements under Michael Carrick during his interim spell in charge last season, failing to break 100 minutes played. However, he is already on track to surpass that total after just a few months of the 2026/27 campaign.
Injury problems for Benjamin Sesko have seen the 25-year-old make a number of substitute appearances, with the increased game time also earning him a recall to the Dutch national team in place of the injured Brian Brobbey. He made the most of that opportunity by scoring the winner in their 2-1 Nations League victory over Serbia last week.
United open to loan or permanent sale
Despite his recent form, United still want to sell and are willing to accept a fee in the region of €35million (£30m), while also being open to an initial loan deal, according to Calciomercato.
Their report states that Fiorentina had offered that sum this past summer, but Zirkzee was against joining them as he preferred a move to Juventus. The outlet has previously claimed that Milan, and a subsequent reunion with Amorim, was in their sights, with an initial temporary switch also their preferred option.
Milan have been linked with a move for the versatile attacker over the last few years and he very nearly joined, only for the club to pull out after issues with his agent. There was also believed to be interest from the Premier League, but United were likely more reluctant to sell to domestic rivals.
Zirkzee's reaction to his current role
Zirkzee has not responded badly to missing out on a move and, more specifically, a return to Italy, where he thrived for Bologna, with a few bright cameos at Old Trafford. Speaking on his current role at United, he said: "At the moment, that means I am mainly coming on as a substitute. And in the end, I have to do something about that myself, even if it isn't easy. Even so, it was still quite a big surprise that the coach called me up."
He added: "I absolutely did not expect a call-up. I'm obviously not a starter, so it did give me a good feeling that the coach had confidence in me to call me up. But absolutely not expected, no."
Carrick has preferred to deploy Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha in the absence of Sesko. The latter missed their draw with Fulham a few weeks ago as he continues to be plagued by a shin issue. That problem continues to be beneficial for Zirkzee, particularly with United having six games across two competitions for the remainder of this month.
