Man Utd tipped to sign 102-goal striker in swap deal for failed INEOS signing who already looks way off

New Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim is reportedly open to the possibility of sanctioning a January exit for Joshua Zirkzee in the January window – with an Italian pundit suggesting that a prolific Serie A striker could move to Old Trafford as part of a lucrative swap and amid worrying claims about the Dutchman’s weight.

Netherlands striker Zirkzee was brought to Old Trafford over the summer in a £36.5m (€42.5m, $46.9m) deal from Bologna, the first signing of the INEOS era at Manchester United. Having caught the eye in his time at Bologna, Zirkzee was seen as a man who could provide a different outlook in attack for the Red Devils and provide strong competition for Rasmus Hojlund, who had shown strong promise in his debut season.

However, while the 23-year-old did manage to net on his debut for the club, Zirkzee has not registered a goal since and now has just one notch to his name from 14 games across all competitions.

Having come in for widespread criticism since, including one damning report that suggested former boss Erik ten Hag did not want to sign him in the first place and that he arrived for pre-season training overweight, speculation has now suggested that United’s incoming new manager Amorim could even green light the striker’s exit.

Now Italian pundit Massimo Orlando is backing the striker to reunite with his former coach Thiago Motta at Juventus – and suggests a possible swap deal with 102-goal striker Dusan Vlahovic could be up for discussion.

“He [Motta] is not at all happy with Vlahovic, who has also scored goals, I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a change in that position in January, with the Serbian to United and Zirkzee to Juve,” Orlando told Tuttomercatoweb.

READ MORE ~ Man Utd star incredibly branded ‘overweight’ after INEOS push through signing Ten Hag ‘didn’t want’

Zirkzee to Juventus played down by two trusted sources

While rumours of Zirkzee’s potential return to Serie A continue to gather plenty of column inches in the Italian media, Sky Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg is adamant that United have no plans to turn their back on their summer signing quite so soon.

“Confirmed once again that a departure of Joshua Zirkzee is absolutely not an option,” Plettenberg stated on X.

“Manchester United want to keep him. The 23-year-old striker is also determined to stay and prove himself. Contract valid until 2029 plus 1.”

Fabrizio Romano has also stated that Zirkzee remains happy at United and is determined to prove his worth.

“Joshua Zirkzee was very happy in Italy, Zirkzee did fantastic in Italy, but he strongly wanted to go to Manchester United,” declared Romano via his YouTube channel.

“Zirkzee decided to go to Man Utd, it was three months ago… so to think that Zirkzee is already planning to leave the club and try something different, this is something that Zirkzee is not doing. He is fully focused on Man Utd.”

Romano has conceded though that while Zirkzee has taken time to adapt to the pace of the English game, the forward will not be asking to leave Old Trafford any time soon.

“This is something that Zirkzee is not doing,” added Romano. “Complete and full focus on Manchester United.”

Latest Man Utd transfer news: Amorim drops Gyokeres hint / Barcelona star linked

Despite those denials, Amorim will be well aware that the Red Devils are simply not scoring enough goals this season, having registered a meagre nine from their 10 Premier League matches played to date.

One man who could instantly fix those issues is Sporting Lisbon striker Viktor Gyokeres, who has been strongly linked with a move to Old Trafford and an instant reunion with the Portuguese coach.

While Plettenberg confirms that Amorim’s interest in bringing Gyokeres with him to Man Utd is solid, the coach himself is eager to play down such talk and joked he could end up in trouble if he spoke about the prolific Swedish striker too much.

“If I start joking about this Gyokeres situation I’ll get in trouble,” Amorim said. “This is my city, this is my country, so I’ll respect it. Viktor has to stay until the end of the season and then his life will probably go somewhere else.”

In addition to Gyokeres, Amorim has also been linked with two other Sporting CP stars, with an astonishing triple raid said to be high on the new United boss’ priority list. Such a move though could set the Red Devils back some £201m – though Amorim has seemingly set those wheels in motion by informing four United stars they will be allowed to leave in 2025.

Elsewhere, United are also being linked with a move for Barcelona defender Andreas Christensen, amid claims a cut-price offer from the Red Devils is being given serious consideration by the LaLiga table-toppers.

Zirkzee’s Man Utd struggles by numbers