Joshua Zirkzee has suggested he might join Manchester United this summer following the Netherlands’ 2-1 victory over Turkey at Euro 2024.
United are keen to acquire the Bologna striker before the new Premier League season begins, having been unable to fund a forward transfer in January.
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AC Milan had also negotiated extensively to sign the 23-year-old, even reaching an agreement with him last month.
However, the deal stalled when the Serie A club refused to pay an additional €15 million (£12.6m) in commission to the player’s agent, Kia Joorabchian.
This has given United an opportunity to step in, and they are prepared to trigger the €40m (£33.7m) release clause in Zirkzee’s Bologna contract, which is valid until August.
Italian reports earlier this week suggested that United manager Erik ten Hag has personally spoken with Zirkzee and persuaded him to consider a move to Old Trafford.
After making his senior international debut for the Netherlands in their 2-1 win over Turkey in the Euro 2024 quarterfinals on Saturday evening, Zirkzee hinted that his future in Serie A is uncertain.
When asked if he will still be playing in Italy next campaign, Zirkzee told Sportitalia: ‘I don’t know, let’s see.’
Asked if it’s a 50 per cent chance that he stays at the club, Zirkzee replied: ‘Let’s see.’
Speaking this week, Bologna’s technical director, Giovanni Sartori, confirmed that they are already working on signing a replacement for the Dutch striker.
‘Zirkzee has a clause so he will leave 99.9 per cent,’ 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.’
Zirkzee moved to Bologna for £7m (€8.5m) from Bayern Munich in August 2022 and scored 11 goals in Serie A last season.
