Manchester United Land Official Bid for Rising Star Joshua Zirkzee
Manchester United have allegedly been presented with a "formal bid" for their unpredictable striker Joshua Zirkzee from Roma, though the Red Devils are believed to have a particular timeframe in consideration for any potential transaction.
Zirkzee has been connected with a departure from Old Trafford since the summer transfer window. Following his disappointing return of just three Premier League strikes during the 2024–25 season—less than Marcus Rashford who was sidelined in December—the Netherlands international was anticipated to be transferred elsewhere.
Nevertheless, Zirkzee remained determined in his commitment to compete for regular playing time in Manchester. "I'm extremely confident," he stated in July when asked about his competition for minutes after the acquisitions of Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha. Benjamin Šeško would later join the roster and while Rasmus Højlund was eventually sold to Napoli, Zirkzee remained at the club.
That self-assurance may have diminished during the past six months spent predominantly on United's substitutes' bench; Ruben Amorim has granted his No. 11 merely three Premier League starting appearances this campaign. Despite recent speculation, The Athletic reports that Zirkzee is willing to seek opportunities elsewhere and it seems that a comeback to Serie A could indeed be possible.
Roma, working through intermediaries, have submitted a proposal for a temporary transfer with a conditional purchase obligation, as reported by Fabrizio Romano. The nature of United's reaction to this bid remains uncertain, but the Italian capital side may need to wait for a definitive response.
Man Utd 'Taking Their Time' Over January Transfers
Romano further mentioned that United are anticipated to "deliberate carefully" regarding this proposal for Zirkzee. The primary factor being the current Africa Cup of Nations tournament.
United are missing Moroccan defender Noussair Mazraoui and, more significantly, the offensive pair of Bryan Mbeumo (Cameroon) and Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast). Morocco have already secured qualification to the elimination rounds while Cameroon and Ivory Coast have begun impressively with 1–0 victories. If these nations progress as predicted, United will be unable to utilize their right-wing combination until the second week of January at minimum.
Should Cameroon or Ivory Coast surprise the tournament favorites and reach the final four, neither Amad nor Mbeumo would return until following the Manchester derby against Pep Guardiola's soaring Manchester City on Jan. 17. Within the January transfer window context, Amorim might prefer to retain Zirkzee as an additional attacking option until his African players can rejoin the squad.
Deprived of his complete right flank and injured skipper Bruno Fernandes, Amorim has been compelled to abandon his favored 3-4-2-1 formation, utilizing an unbalanced 4-2-3-1 setup against Newcastle United on Boxing Day which secured an unconvincing 1–0 victory. Zirkzee was still only utilized as a replacement in that match but, should Šeško need any rest during this stretch, the tall Dutch player would probably be Amorim's preferred substitute option, particularly given his apparent frustration with United's "privileged" youth academy products.