Man Utd star said ‘yes’ to transfer days before Newcastle game with move agreed | Football

Joshua Zirkzee has agreed a January move to Roma with the Serie A giants expecting a deal for the Manchester United star to be done by mid-January.

The Netherlands international is among the clutch of United players to have grown frustrated with their lack of starting opportunities at Old Trafford this season.

Zirkzee did not start any of United’s first 11 league matches of the season but injuries for Benjamin Sesko and Matheus Cunha opened the door again, starting games against Everton, Crystal Palace and West Ham United.

The former Bologna star has since returned to the bench however, left out of the starting XI against Newcastle United on Friday night despite the absences of Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo. Zirkzee came off the bench after an hour but was thoroughly underwhelming as United hung onto their lead with Ruben Amorim spotted berating his forward on more than one occasion.

While Amorim has insisted players will only be able to leave in January if replacements are found, Zirkzee appears to be heading closer to the Old Trafford exit.

Gazzetta dello Sport report the Dutchman has already said yes to a move to Roma. The report claims the United star spoke to Roma boss Gian Piero Gasperini ‘in recent days’ leading up to the Newcastle match where he was reassured over his role in the team.

Zirkzee was also involved in a series of discussions with Roma’s management team, including sporting director Frederic Massara, resulting in the player giving his ‘full approval’ to the move.  

Roma are confident a deal, an initial loan with the obligation to buy for €40million at the end of the season, will be wrapped up by mid-January when United will have Mbeumo and Amad back from Africa Cup of Nations duty.

The final of the competition takes place on 18 January.

Zirkzee joined United from Bologna in the summer of 2024 for a fee of £36.5million, scoring just seven times in his debut season.

Having been linked with a return to Italy for some time, Dutch legend Ruud Gullit recently insisted his countryman made the ‘wrong decision’ moving to Manchester.

‘I think from my point of view that he should have stayed in Italy, because he was really striving,’ Gullit told Metro in November.

‘He was really doing well at Bologna, and I was hoping that he would go to Milan. I think that as soon as he went to Manchester United, it was the wrong decision.

‘I mean, for a lot of players, moving to Manchester United has been the wrong decision. And whoever leaves them, plays well everywhere around Europe. I just hope that there’s a solution for him.

‘Go back to Italy on loan if you can. Just play football. He’s a good player. But at the moment, it’s difficult at Manchester United.’

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