Manchester United forward Joshua Zirkzee could reportedly leave the Premier League giants ‘earlier than expected’ following the arrival of Ruben Amorim.
The Red Devils were busy in the summer following Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s takeover as his new recruitment team brought in Zirkzee, Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui and Manuel Ugarte for around £185m.
Zirkzee – who joined for around £36m – was Man Utd’s first summer signing and his season got off to a dream start as he scored the winning goal in his side’s 1-0 opening day win against Fulham.
However, the Netherlands international’s performances have been a major disappointment in recent months. He is without a goal in ten Premier League appearances and has been heavily criticised for his poor form.
The 23-year-old has slipped behind Rasmus Hojlund in the pecking order and has failed to make an impact off the bench in recent matches.
In Ruud van Nistelrooy’s final game as interim boss, the Red Devils beat Leicester City 3-0 on Sunday. Before this match, United struggled in front of goal and they have still only scored 12 goals in their eleven Premier League matches this season.
READ: Amorim demands Man Utd sign ‘new De Gea’ from Arsenal to replace ‘resounding failure’
A report in Italy claims Zirkzee is considered an ‘expensive flop’ and he will be ‘put on the market in January’.
It is claimed that Zirkzee ‘could leave earlier than expected’ as new head coach Amorim has ‘asked for intervention on the market during the winter transfer window’.
Amorim has been appointed to replace Erik ten Hag, who was sacked at the end of last month.
39-year-old Amorim did a great job at Sporting Lisbon, who have won the Primeira Liga title twice since 2020 and won their first eleven league matches this season.
Amorim has officially joined Man Utd and his first game in charge will be against Ipswich Town on November 24.
Ahead of his arrival, Man Utd have been linked with several Sporting Lisbon stars and it’s been claimed that they could look to sign Viktor Gyokeres, who is the 2024 top scorer in Europe.
MORE MAN UTD COVERAGE ON F365…
👉 Man Utd make shock move for ‘unhappy’ Chelsea star as Amorim’s first signing
👉 Van Nistelrooy learns from Ten Hag mistakes to lean on Man Utd trio in superb Leicester win
👉 ‘Incredible’ Man Utd star ‘loved’ by Amorim with INEOS tipped to ‘sell Ten Hag signings in January’
The report claims Gyokeres is Amorim’s ‘dream’ signing for Man Utd, while Zirkzee could return to Serie A.
‘The situation of the player who grew up in Bayern Munich could be monitored by Italian clubs, who had already been keeping an eye on Zirkzee in the summer.’
Amorim has ruled out signing Sporting Lisbon stars in January, but he seems open to the idea of raiding his former club next summer.
He said: “I won’t be signing [Sporting players] in January, that’s what I said.
“I don’t know about the summer. The main thing is to hold on until the summer [laughs]. After that, we’ll see, Sporting’s players are very good players. I don’t know. We’ll see.”
