Arsenal and Manchester United have been keeping a close eye on Joshua Zirkzee, but will be forced to wait to see if he makes a move inside Serie A instead.
Joshua Zirkzee Transfer Exclusive
Joshua Zirkzee, 22, has 11 goals from 32 games for Bologna this season as his game evolves under boss Thiago Motta.
Manchester United and Arsenal both want a new forward for next season, and are intrigued by Zirkzee as his price-point is expected to be somewhere in the region of £45million.
It is a cheaper option than some other targets they could look at for the summer market, but Zirkzee fancies the prospect of remaining in Serie A and has options with AC Milan and Juventus.
The Milan interest has been bubbling for a while but it is the Juve pathway that is intriguing right now. SportsLens understands there are still significant hurdles to overcome before they could seriously consider signing him.
The most obvious factor in trying to sign Zirkzee is to fit the model of Motta, who works with Zirkzee and is firm favourite to replace Massimiliano Allegri at Juventus.
Zirkzee’s style of play is key to how Bologna function, as Motta utilises an unorthodox and free flowing style. He is a slightly different profile from their current main striker Dusan Vlahovic, and that would be important to getting the side to start progressing fast.
Yet there are complications beyond just landing his current boss as Juve need to make the finances of such a deal work.
Sources are indicating that in order to open up such funds, Juventus will need to discover how much cash they are likely to bring in from the sales of Arkadiusz Milik and Moise Kean, who are both going to be moved on.
Juve are also looking into a deal for another Bologna player – Scot Lewis Ferguson – as they aim to inject new life into the side once Motta is in place.
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