Ranking Joshua Zirkzee’s Man Utd escape route options as Prem loan links gather pace

Joshua Zirkzee is the next candidate to leave Manchester United in view of the January transfer window after struggling to assert himself at Old Trafford.

Last season was a disappointing introduction to the Premier League for Zirkzee, who only scored three goals from 32 games in the top flight. However, when the summer transfer window came around, it was his fellow striker Rasmus Hojlund who made way, rather than the Dutchman, as Benjamin Sesko arrived to try and right United’s wrongs up front.

But it may have just been a stay of execution for Zirkzee, who isn’t really getting a look in this season and is yet to score.

There’s already an openness at Old Trafford to offloading the 24-year-old in January if it unlocks the prospect of United being able to replace him with a better striker.

But where could the former Bayern Munich and Bologna forward go? And where would be his best destinations to revive his career?

Given that his most likely way to leave United in January would be a loan, it will be in their best interests to place him in the right environment to boost his chances of performing well, and in turn, their chances of getting a good fee for him in the summer if they are able to sell by then.

With that in mind, we’ve taken a look at the clubs linked with Zirkzee and assessed where would be best for him to go, starting with the most suitable and working our way down.

West Ham

It’s been a dire start to the season for West Ham, who sacked Graham Potter because of their struggles and replaced him with Nuno Espirito Santo, without yet seeing much of an uplift.

The striker position has been a problem for years at the London Stadium, only ever seemingly solved fleetingly.

Only Nottingham Forest and Wolves have scored fewer goals in the Premier League than West Ham after eight games this season.

Up front, the Hammers haven’t been able to rely on Niclas Fullkrug, who is nursing a thigh injury. He should be back before January, but it looks risky for West Ham not to be thinking about bringing in competition for him.

Zirkzee has now been heavily touted for a loan move to West Ham in the winter. It would give him a second chance to prove himself in the Premier League, although given West Ham’s current predicament, it would be in another high-pressure environment.

In an added bonus, West Ham would be able to reunite Zirkzee with his compatriot Crysencio Summerville, with whom he has played in the Feyenoord academy and at various youth levels with the Dutch national team.

A loan from Man Utd to West Ham worked wonders for Jesse Lingard a few years ago. Even if not to the same magnitude, Zirkzee would hope to experience a similar bounce by making the same move.

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Como

Zirkzee originally earned his move to United by standing out in Serie A, much like Hojlund. Would he be best following in his former teammates’ footsteps by returning to Italian football for his next move?

There was plenty of interest from other Italian clubs in taking Zirkzee away from Bologna in the first place and that hasn’t completely disappeared.

A relatively new contender for his signature could be Como, backed by the wealthiest owners in Serie A and being led by head coach Cesc Fabregas.

Como have an ambitious project and have been keen to ensure in recent months that they have a good blend of youth and experience, which Zirkzee could fit in well with.

Fabregas has Como playing with a possession-based approach and Zirkzee is the kind of striker who likes to get on the ball, so much so that he has become an option to play as one of the two no.10s for Amorim’s United.

Como could even have the luxury of being able to afford to buy Zirkzee in a permanent deal, which might be music to United’s ears.

Roma

Another Serie A side who seem to be serious about Zirkzee are Roma, who have seen their current strikers – Artem Dovbyk and Evan Ferguson – score just once between them so far this season.

The bulky Dovbyk in particular is an awkward fit for Gian Piero Gasperini’s tactics, while there have also been some faint whispers about sending Ferguson back to Brighton.

Zirkzee would appear to be a more natural option to thrive in what Gasperini would like to be a more fluid attack, although perhaps Roma should have some reservations over whether or not he would be able to give them the goals they need.

From Zirkzee’s perspective, though, Roma could offer European football – which United can’t this season.

Back in the 2019-20 season, Chris Smalling provided a blueprint for how a United castaway can succeed on loan in the Italian capital, eventually earning a permanent move.

Everton

David Moyes is believed to be a long-term admirer of Zirkzee, dating back to his time in charge of West Ham.

Thus, The Friedkin Group could be set up for a battle between two clubs in their ownership network if Everton rival Roma for Zirkzee’s signature.

The Toffees added Thierno Barry to their strike force over the summer but Moyes is being patient with him in the Premier League so far and he is yet to get off the mark in any competition.

Meanwhile, Beto faces an uncertain future and Zirkzee could offer a different kind of element to Everton’s attack.

The last player to switch United for Everton on loan was one of Zirkzee’s Dutch compatriots, Donny van de Beek in 2022. That didn’t go so well, though.

AC Milan

Milan are a bit unsure about their current striker, Santiago Gimenez, and invested in former Chelsea forward Christopher Nkunku over the summer.

But they have also been mentioned as candidates to rescue Zirkzee after taking a look at him before.

Milan boss Max Allegri has been using a strike partnership in several games this season, which would allow Zirkzee to combine with another attacker.

He could also benefit from reuniting with his former Bologna teammate Alexis Saelemaekers, who never made an assist for Zirkzee during their previous stint together but is a good crosser from wing-back to create chances.

Real Betis

Last winter, Real Betis took an unwanted attacker off United’s hands by signing Antony on loan, sparking a revival of fortunes for the Brazilian winger who ultimately became theirs in a permanent deal.

There has recently been speculation in Spain that Betis could look to reunite the pair by agreeing another deal with United in January, this time for Zirkzee.

With the exception of Cucho Hernandez, their centre-forward options are getting towards the end of their peak years, if not past them already.

Juventus

Juventus are historic suitors for Zirkzee, who could have followed ex-Bologna coach Thiago Motta there last summer instead of joining United.

But the Motta era ended prematurely in Turin and Zirkzee would be joining a different kind of Juventus side if they were to genuinely rekindle their interest.

Dusan Vlahovic’s future with the Old Lady remains in doubt, but Juventus brought in Jonathan David and Lois Openda this summer.

Neither of them have made a regular goalscoring impact yet, but they could still be obstacles to Zirkzee’s potential pathway in the Juventus side.

Brighton

Brighton’s attacking options are either youthful or experienced, with little in between. Danny Welbeck is now 34, competing with teenagers Charalampos Kostoulas and Stefanos Tzimas.

Georginio Rutter has featured in a slightly more advanced role than the one he ended last season playing in, but Brighton have been backed to enter the race for Zirkzee if he fancies a Premier League stay.

Plenty of players have progressed at the Amex Stadium in recent years, so it could be a decent platform for Zirkzee to recover some form, but then again, Brighton might want to be giving more opportunities to their own prospects by the end of the season.

Sevilla

Sevilla narrowly avoided relegation from LaLiga last season, but so far look like more of a mid-table outfit this time around.

Reminiscent of when they took Anthony Martial on loan from United in 2022, they have recently been tipped in Spain to battle local rivals Real Betis for Zirkzee’s signature.

But Sevilla already have Akor Adams, Isaac Romero and ex-United flop Alexis Sanchez as strikers and all have got off the mark this season.

Aston Villa

Aston Villa became a springboard for another fading United forward in the shape of Marcus Rashford over the second half of last season and have recently been tipped to take Zirkzee.

But there’s a catch: Premier League clubs aren’t allowed to sign more than one player on loan from the same English club in a season, so Jadon Sancho’s move to Villa rules out Zirkzee making the same switch unless it’s a permanent deal.

Even if a move was possible, it would be hard to see Zirkzee getting past Ollie Watkins in the pecking order up front.