Fiorentina submit bid for Joshua Zirkzee

Manchester United’s forward line has been reshaped dramatically over the past two summers.

Benjamin Sesko, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo all arrived last year in a rebuild costing close to £200million, having watched United score just 44 goals in an underwhelming previous season.

That investment left one member of the previous summer’s rebuild fighting for scraps of playing time almost immediately.

Michael Carrick has continued that trend since replacing Ruben Amorim in January, sticking largely with the same attacking options that have carried United since the turn of the year.

One forward’s path back into regular contention has looked narrower with every passing week as a result.

Fiorentina are now in advanced talks to sign Joshua Zirkzee, with an official bid sent to United as negotiations continue between the two clubs and the player’s camp, as reported by Fabrizio Romano on X.

The proposed deal is understood to involve a €5million loan fee with a buy clause included.

Joshua Zirkzee joined United from Bologna in 2024 on a five-year contract, arriving with real promise after an impressive season in Serie A that also took in spells at Bayern Munich, Parma and Anderlecht earlier in his career.

Erik ten Hag had signed him as the mobile, deep-dropping profile United had lacked, someone capable of linking play rather than simply occupying the penalty box.

That role never quite translated to English football, and when Amorim arrived that November with an entirely different system built around wing-backs and a front three, Zirkzee found himself miscast almost overnight.

He still managed a 21-game run in the Premier League under the Portuguese before a hamstring injury in April ended his season early, and by the time last summer’s rebuild arrived, three new forwards had effectively been signed to replace him.

The numbers told their own story from there as Joshua Zirkzee slipped to just 26 appearances across all competitions in 2025/26, scoring twice, having featured 49 times the season before.

Frustration over his lack of game time has been building for the best part of a year, with the forward previously said to be pushing for a January exit before United instead opted to keep him around as squad cover.

Juventus and Napoli have also been credited with interest in taking him back to Serie A.

Aston Villa made contact to understand Zirkzee’s situation regarding a potential deal, while Como and Roma were also interested earlier in the window.

Fiorentina’s move, though, is understood to be the most concrete of those approaches, with talks now at an advanced stage.

United are believed to be open to letting him leave permanently rather than risk losing him for nothing when his contract eventually runs down.

Carrick’s preference remains for Sesko to lead the line once he returns fully to fitness, leaving little incentive for United to keep Zirkzee around purely as a fourth-choice option.