Man Utd and Arsenal ‘above all’ in race for Serie A striker on better tally than Hojlund this time last season

Manchester United and Arsenal are both in the market for centre-forwards and they have each earned a place near the front of the queue for Bologna frontman Joshua Zirkzee, according to reports in Italy that have explained the perception about him changing clubs.

Zirkzee is building up attention in his services again during his second season with Bologna, after previously encouraging Bayern Munich to invest in his potential until he left them with just four goals from 17 appearances.

Now, Zirkzee is the joint-10th top scorer in Serie A this season and is putting himself in the shop window, but where will the 22-year-old end up?

Recently, he has been heavily linked with coming to the Premier League for the first time, but there are a number of clubs who could be keen to offer him that opportunity.

For example, the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa have recently entered the equation and Newcastle United have been mentioned as admirers.

However, according to the Corriere Di Bologna, it is Manchester United and Arsenal who are ‘above all’ for Zirkzee at this stage, even though there is plenty of interest in his signature in mainland Europe as well.

Indeed, even his former employers at Bayern will be ones to watch thanks to the way they can still have an influence in his future.

When Bayern sold Zirkzee to Bologna in 2022, they negotiated a €40m buyback clause and a right to a percentage of a future sale.

Even if Bayern don’t want Zirkzee back, the fee they agreed will give Bologna a benchmark to work from when they face the prospect of selling Zirkzee, which is why there is a perception that Thiago Motta’s side will be fairly relaxed about the situation.

Furthermore, Bologna will be eager to maximise their earnings, given that they won’t be banking it all for themselves.

Zirkzee outdoing Hojlund’s Atalanta form

In that regard, the better Zirkzee does, the more it will play into their hands. And he is well on track, having scored eight goals from 22 appearances between Serie A and the Coppa Italia this season.

For context, that is a better return at this stage of the Italian season than Rasmus Hojlund had managed at this point last season with Atalanta, six months before Man Utd invested heavily in him.

After his first 22 appearances for Atalanta, Hojlund had only scored seven goals, which is one fewer than Zirkzee’s tally for the current campaign.

Hojlund finished his Atalanta career with 10 goals to his name, a tally Zirkzee could easily surpass this season given his present rate of finding the back of the net.

Even comprising Hojlund’s early 2022-23 appearances for Sturm Graz, he ended up with a total of 16 goals last season, which Zirkzee is now halfway to matching in 2023-24.

Hojlund has struggled to deliver exactly what Man Utd need on a consistent basis since his summer transfer, so the Red Devils could require another striker to take the heat off him somewhat as he develops.

There have been theories that they might look for a more experienced rotation option, such as Bayern’s Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting, but if they can wait until the summer, there might be some more flexibility.

Who will Bologna do business with?

Erik ten Hag has influenced Man Utd’s transfer proceedings to often include a Dutch theme and could bring another of his compatriots to Old Trafford. That is, unless Arsenal beat them to Zirkzee.

After all, the two clubs seem to be neck and neck in the race to sign the former Parma and Anderlecht loanee at the moment.

Arsenal currently have Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah as their centre-forwards, but after knocking on the door for the Premier League title last season and falling short – which looks likely to repeat this season, although there is still a long way to go – questions are being asked of whether they could do with an upgrade.

A few years ago, Arsenal already did business with Bologna to sign Takehiro Tomiyasu for their defence, so they could revisit the same transfer hunting ground to address a different area of their system.

It is all to play for at this stage, and Bologna might not even be under too much pressure to let Zirkzee go even in the summer, since he remains under contract at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara until 2026.

However, sometimes it is a case of cashing in on a player while their stock is high, which Bologna may have to consider.

They are in the mix for European qualification this season, though, and if they can get over the line for a first UEFA campaign in over 20 years, it would be interesting to see what their stance would be. Would they use it as extra leverage to raise funds, or look to keep as strong a squad as possible and build?

Whatever happens, it looks like Man Utd and Arsenal might be ready to test their resolve.

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