It’s safe to say that Man United’s move for Joshua Zirkzee has so far spectacularly blown up in their collective face.
Getting the Dutchman in made little sense even when Erik ten Hag was in charge, and the mind boggles as to what role he could perform now that Rúben Amorim is at the club.
The onus is on United now to demonstrate how quickly they can move Zirkzee on.
Man United considering Joshua Zirkzee swap deal for Viktor Gyökeres
As reported by the Manchester Evening News on the back of Fabrizio Romano’s latest Daily Briefing newsletter, Manchester United are considering offering Sporting their Dutch forward Joshua Zirkzee as part of a cash-plus-player agreement in an attempt to poach Viktor Gyökeres.
Despite beating many a big side for the Netherlands international’s signature, United have not seen many decent performances from Zirkzee in the opening months of the season, with recent reports suggesting that Erik ten Hag was not happy with his compatriot’s arrival in the first place.
With Rúben Amorim taking charge of their first team, the Red Devils are keen on helping him reunite with the striker he has helped develop into one of the very best in Europe at the moment, and to that end they are already willing to part ways with Zirkzee in an attempt to avoid paying the entirety of Gyökeres’ €100m release clause.
Zirkzee, who earlier this year talked about not being an out-and-out striker, has just one goal and two assists to his name from 17 appearances this season. The Sweden international, on the other hand, has 23 goals and four assists from 18 games.
It could work
From what we have seen with Amorim at Sporting, it is clear he would prefer someone of Gyökeres’ profile up front instead of a player like Zirkzee, so it is clear that United are going to have to cut their losses on an investment that did not really make sense in the first place regardless of the player’s undeniable quality and potential.
That said, United may not need to push for Gyökeres come January; they already have an out-and-out Scandinavian forward in Rasmus Højlund who could slot in right away and take the spot for himself.
The Dane has until January to prove to Amorim and the United board that they need not make a heavy investment in Gyökeres, whose arrival will unquestionably undermine the 21-year-old at Old Trafford.
