Everton swoop in for Bayern Munich strike starlet with deal ‘close’
Everton are hoping to sign Joshua Zirkzee on loan from Bayern Munich this month, it has been claimed.
Carlo Ancelotti wants to bring in attacking reinforcements after top scorer Dominic Calvert-Lewin suffered an injury.
Calvert-Lewin’s form has been pivotal to their promising first half of the season, so they need to find cover. According to talkSPORT, Zirkzee may be the man to fill the void.
The Bayern forward is a long-term target for Everton, who originally wanted to sign him in 2017. They have not lost sight of him since, and are now apparently closing in on a deal.
The radio station claims Everton will sign Zirkzee on loan for the rest of the season. Should his spell be a success, there could be discussions about a permanent transfer.
Zirkzee has shown flashes of potential for Bayern since joining them as an academy player from Feyenoord in 2017. He scored a hat-trick on his debut for the reserves in 2019.
The teenager also found the net on his senior debut last season and finished the campaign with four goals from 12 appearances.
Naturally, he has found it hard to get into the first team on a regular basis at Bayern, whose main striker Robert Lewandowski was the best player in the world in 2020.
Hence, Zirkzee has had to play for their reserves in the German third tier as many times as he has in the Bundesliga so far this season. He is yet to score in either competition in 2020-21.
His potential remains high, though, so a loan spell away from Bayern could give him the platform he needs to develop.
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Zirkzee has considered Everton move before
Everton would be a willing taker, with Zirkzee himself having been tempted by the club before.
“Everton was a serious option for me,” he confirmed last year, speaking about his decision to join Bayern in 2017.
“Ronald Koeman was coach, Romelu Lukaku left for Manchester United that summer and I got the feeling from Everton that there was a good chance I could really become something there.
“They even offered me a contract whilst I was on trial.”
Now, he may finally get the chance to test himself at Goodison Park.
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