Man Utd set demands in Joshua Zirkzee talks with Juventus | OneFootball

Manchester United will demand Juventus commit to a permanent transfer if they are to land striker Joshua Zirkzee this month, a report has claimed.

Zirkzee has struggled since his £36.5m transfer to Old Trafford in the summer, netting just four goals in 27 appearances and failing to hold down a regular spot under new head coach Ruben Amorim, who apologised to the Dutch forward after substituting him in the first half of the recent 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United.

A return to Serie A, where he flourished last season with Bologna, has been touted for Zirkzee, with Juventus keen to reunite him with his old boss Thiago Motta.

Gianluca Di Marzio states that contact has been made between Juventus and United, with the Italian outfit keen to land Zirkzee on a loan deal this month.

While United would be open to offloading Zirkzee on loan, they will only strike such a deal if Juventus commit to an obligatory purchase clause. A permanent transfer would be United's preferred structure as they must sell players to raise the funds needed for reinforcements in January.

As of yet, Juventus have not indicated a willingness to sign Zirkzee permanently, with early negotiations making very little progress.

There is no mention of Zirkzee's stance on the deal, but it was recently reported that the 23-year-old had already made it clear he does not want to leave United so soon after arriving, instead preferring to play a role in their possible resurgence over the second half of the campaign.