Manchester United have rejected an offer for Joshua Zirkzee but have opened the door for his departure in January.
Ex-United manager Erik ten Hag brought Zirzkee to Old Trafford in the summer of 2024 in a £36.5m move from Bologna.
Zirkzee reached double figures in his final season in Serie A but did not have much of a back catalogue to suggest he was worthy of a lucrative move to the Premier League.
The 24-year-old scored on his Manchester United debut but has endured a dismal run since then, netting just three more league goals in 38 appearances.
Zirkzee suffered an injury towards the end of last season and has been unable to win a place back in the team, starting just three Premier League games so far this season.
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A lack of game-time under Ruben Amorim has convinced Zirkzee his future lies away from Manchester United and the Netherlands international is hoping to secure a January move.
Roma have expressed interest in signing Zirzkee despite his struggles in Manchester and Italian outlet Corriere dello Sport claim the Serie A side are confident is striking a deal.
It is claimed Zirkzee has already agreed a move to Roma – making that decision ‘in a flash’ – but that the two clubs are yet to reach an agreement.
Manchester United have in fact rejected Roma’s opening offer of an initial loan with an option to buy should Gian Piero Gasperini’s side qualify for the Champions League.
But United have indicated they will only offload Zirzkee on a permanent transfer as they want the cash now, potentially to spend during the January transfer window.
Co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is said to have set ‘strict negotiations’ for the upcoming transfer window, privately insisting there will be ‘no freebies’.
If Roma cannot reach an agreement with Manchester United, they will look at alternative targets such as Corinthians forward Yuri Alberto.
United’s asking price for Zirkzee is unclear but reports last month claimed the Red Devils wanted around 35m euros (£31m).
Zirkzee’s sale would potentially increase Manchester United’s transfer budget for January, with Amorim keen to sign a new midfielder and another wing-back.
The calibre of midfielders United are targeting – Carlos Baleba, Adam Wharton and Elliot Anderson have all been linked – mean they may have to wait until next summer to strengthen in that position.
Zirkzee scored his first Premier League goal in almost a year in United’s comeback win over Crystal Palace at the end of November.
The Dutch forward started against West Ham on Thursday night before being subbed off in the second-half of the 1-1 draw.
Manchester United will likely be back in the bottom-half of the Premier League by the time they visit bottom-placed Wolves on Monday night.
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England will begin their World Cup campaign against Croatia at 9pm GMT on June 17 at the AT&T Stadium in Dallas.
After the World Cup draw was made on Friday in which England were placed in Group L alongside Croatia, Ghana and Panama.
A separate broadcast was held on Saturday to reveal the kick-off times and venues for every World Cup team in the group stage.
England’s second group game against Ghana will also kick off at 9pm GMT, but the game will be played at Gillette Stadium in Boston on June 23.
England’s final group game against Panama will be played at the MetLife Stadium at 10pm GMT on June 27.
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Speaking after the draw was made, Tuchel described England’s draw as ‘tough’ and insisted ‘no one can be underestimated’.
We have Croatia and Ghana, two regulars in World Cups, and we have Panama,’ Tuchel said.
England vs Croatia | June 17 | 9pm (GMT)
England vs Ghana | June 23 | 9pm (GMT)
England vs Panama | June 27 | 10pm (GMT)
‘I don’t know much about Panama but we will know everything about them when the tournament starts.
‘For me personally, even in Champions League, you have to focus on the group – the group is always the most difficult and we want to escape and we want to win the group. It’s a tough one.
‘No one should be underestimated. Of course, Croatia is the standout name [and] the highest-ranked team from Pot 2 that we got into our group. It’s a difficult opener against Croatia. We take it from here.
‘Ghana is always full of talent and can always surprise and has a big history in World Cup football. Also, Panama will try to make the most in the underdog role. No one can be underestimated, everyone deserves the fullest respect and we will show that.’
More to follow…
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David James has questioned whether Cole Palmer’s return has ‘slightly upset’ the Chelsea squad after they dropped more points in the Premier League.
The momentum that was built during an impressive run of form and last weekend’s encouraging draw with leaders Arsenal has all but disappeared after two poor results.
Enzo Maresca’s side suffered a shock 3-1 defeat to relegation-battlers Leeds United in midweek before a goalless draw with Bournemouth on Saturday.
Palmer was introduced from the bench for the final half an hour at Elland Road before lasting 58 minutes at Bournemouth.
The 23-year-old has been one of the best players in the Premier League over the past two seasons but James has suggested his return may have ‘upset’ the rhythm of a Chelsea team who were getting used to playing without the England star.
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Discussing Chelsea’s title credentials, James told Stadium Astro: ‘Chelsea proved the other night against Leeds that they are being hamstrung by the amount of bookings and red cards they’re getting.
‘They don’t need that. I don’t know whether, just going off on a mad tangent here, the reintroduction of Cole Palmer into the squad has slightly upset things.
‘But they should have beat Arsenal and may have done if it wasn’t for those disciplinary issues.’
Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez did not appear overly disappointed after the goalless draw at Bournemouth.
‘Coming from a loss in the last game, we wanted to redeem ourselves,’ he told Premier League Productions. ‘I think we played well.
‘We kept a clean sheet and didn’t lose the game. We take the point and go into the next game needing three points.
‘Bournemouth are a great team. They have a lot of intensity and we had to deal with that and see how the game went after. We were able to manage the game.
‘We know what our goal is and our quality. We have to keep going.’
Stamford Bridge boss Maresca, meanwhile, told BBC Sport: ‘I think we lacked a bit of quality in the last third, the last pass and the last shoot.
‘When you are not able to win it is important that you don’t lose so we will take the point.
‘I think we controlled the game and then in the last bit we missed the shoot, the pass and the cross. That can just happen.
‘For us it was another clean sheet and we didn’t lose so that is important. We tried to win the game. We had some chances. I said many times it’s important not to lose when you don’t win.
‘We missed a bit of quality in the last third but we need to go again on Tuesday.’
On Palmer’s performance on the south coast, Maresca said: ‘He was good. After a long time, he played for some minutes and now he needs to build his physical condition.’
Chelsea, now fourth in the Premier League, face Atalanta in the Champions League on Tuesday before returning to domestic action next weekend against Everton.
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