Joshua Zirkzee seems to have confirmed that a move to Old Trafford is on the horizon, with sharp-eyed Manchester United (Man Utd) fans noticing his clear hints on Instagram.
United have made acquiring a new centre-forward to support Rasmus Hojlund a priority this summer, and Bologna striker Zirkzee has recently become the top target on their wishlist.
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The Netherlands international scored 11 goals and provided four assists for Bologna in Serie A last season and was part of Ronald Koeman’s squad that was eliminated from Euro 2024 by England on Wednesday night.
The Red Devils have faced strong competition from AC Milan for Zirkzee’s signature, and multiple reports suggest that a deal worth around £33 million for the 23-year-old is nearing completion.
Milan had initially reached an agreement with Zirkzee earlier in the window, but the deal fell through as they were unwilling to pay an additional €15 million (£12.6m) in commission to his representative, Kia Joorabchian.
It’s understood that Erik ten Hag personally spoke with Zirkzee about the proposed move before personal terms were agreed.
United are expected to officially announce Zirkzee’s arrival in the coming days, but many supporters believe the forward has already practically confirmed his imminent switch to the Theatre of Dreams.
Interestingly, Zirkzee has ‘liked’ two separate posts on the Instagram page of transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, the second of which states: ‘HERE WE GO! Man United agree to sign Joshua Zirkzee as first move for INEOS.’
Romano even reposted a screenshot of Zirkzee’s actions on his profile on X with a shaking hands emoji – indicating that it is only a matter of time before United unveil their summer signing.
After the Netherlands’ 2-1 victory over Turkey at Euro 2024, Zirkzee declined to confirm whether he would still be a Bologna player at the start of the 2024/25 season.
Asked if he will still be playing in Italy next season, Zirkzee told Sportitalia: ‘I don’t know, let’s see.’
Pressed on whether there was a 50 percent chance he could stay at Bologna, Zirkzee replied: ‘Let’s see.’
This comes after Bologna’s technical director, Giovanni Sartori, admitted the club was already looking for Zirkzee’s potential successor.
‘Zirkzee has a release clause, so he will leave 99.9 percent,’ Sartori told Sky Sport Italia.
‘We have been thinking about his replacement for months.
‘It won’t be easy, but we will work to replace him. We already have some names, some ideas.’
