Juventus are keen to sign Czech forward Patrik Schick in January as they wait to launch an attack for Manchester United forward Joshua Zirkzee in the summer.
The Dutch striker impressed massively in Italy last season for Bologna as he won the best under 23 player in Serie A last year.
Zirkzee’s career at Old Trafford got off to the perfect start as he netted the winner against Fulham on the opening day of the season but it has fallen to pieces since.
His form for United and his national team have fallen off a cliff lately and he seems bereft of confidence and ideas on how to survive in the Premier League.
Subsequently, there have already been numerous links to a move away from the club as United are reportedly hot on the trail of Ruben Amorim’s former striker at Sporting Lisbon, Viktor Gyokeres.
One club that have been heavily linked to a move for Zirkzee are Juventus, largely due to the fact that they are trained by his former coach at Bologna, Thiago Motta.
La Gazzetta dello Sport (via calciomercato) report that “Juventus are working to verify the availability of the German champions to loan Schick in January.”
This is because they want to find an able deputy for first choice striker Dušan Vlahović.
Schick “would be a bridging solution while waiting to launch the assault on Manchester United to try to bring the Dutchman Zirkzee, already trained by Thiago Motta in Bologna, back to Italy in view of the next summer market.”
The Dutch forward is said to be open to a return to Serie A as he has failed to come to terms with the pressure of playing for United in the Premier League.
What’s more, the Red Devils’ new head coach, Ruben Amorim’s preferred striker type is more in the mould of Rasmus Hojlund than Zirkzee, placing his future in massive doubt.
Zirkzee has scored just the one goal in 17 matches this season for United and will be desperate to get back to something like his form in Italy as the Premier League season really kicks into gear, with the festive period of fixtures about to commence.
Featured image David Balogh via Getty Images
Alex Browne
Alex is a huge Manchester United fan, inspired by greats of his homeland such as George Best, Harry Gregg and Norman Whiteside. Proud owner of such niche shirts such as Kleberson, Eric Djemba-Djemba and Gary Neville. Grew up pretending to be Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the back garden, with little success.
