United U-turn pushes Joshua Zirkzee towards January exit, clubs across Europe circling – report

Manchester United made it three wins on the bounce yesterday, beating Brighton and Hove Albion 4-2 at Old Trafford. Summer signings Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo were on the scoresheet, and Benjamin Sesko got an assist, an indication that Ruben Amorim’s new frontline is starting to click. This is good news for United, but only deepens Joshua Zirkzee’s problems. Zirkzee unhappy at United The Dutchman came off the bench against Brighton, but only when the win already looked secure. His spell on the pitch brought his Premier League playing time this season up to a measly 82 minutes – far from satisfactory for a player keen to feature for his nation at the World Cup. It has long been reported that Zirkzee is looking to leave Old Trafford in search of more regular football, although Fabrizio Romano explained that the player is not creating any problems at United and is a popular figure in the dressing room. Numerous clubs have been credited with an interest in the 24-year-old, including Premier League sides Nottingham Forest, West Ham United and Everton and a host of clubs across Europe. Roma storm into the race TBR Football report today that Roma are now “pushing hard” for Zirkzee, and are looking to make room for him by sending on-loan Brighton striker Evan Ferguson back to England. Transfer expert Graeme Bailey told TBR football that Zirkzee is Roma’s “favoured choice” if they are successful in offloading the Irishman. United stance changed The messaging up to now has been clear that United will keep hold of the player despite his lack of gametime, with Amorim understood to be reluctant to let him go. However, Bailey believes that the Red Devils are now prepared to sanction his loan exit in January. He states confidently that “Zirkzee is set to move”, and that “United are going to sanction it”. He explains that the club “really like his attitude and commitment” but after the heavy investment over the summer realise that “he is way down the pecking order”. United want him to go the World Cup, and understand that “the only chance is for him to play next year”. If the club’s stance has really changed, there will be a frenzied rush to sign Zirkzee on loan in January with teams in Spain, France and Germany joining Premier League and Serie A sides in the race. Featured image Carl Recine via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Joe Ponting Joe has spent more than half his life writing about football and all of it following United. As a child he told a doctor his name was ‘Paul Scholes’, but could never pick a pass like him no matter how much he tried. He cut his teeth working in print media for local newspapers and entered football journalism covering the grassroots game for the Non-League Paper. Here he achieved a career high, interviewing United legend Sir Bobby Charlton to get his views on the lower echelons of the football pyramid. To kill time during international breaks Joe writes album reviews and has strong views on post punk for Plus One Magazine.