Man Utd transfers: Agent issues rapid response to stunning Juventus swap claims

Juventus have responded quickly to claims that they are ready to offer Douglas Luiz to Manchester United as part of a swap deal for Joshua Zirkzee and amid claims Ruben Amorim has drawn a very quick conclusion on his new club’s summer signing.

The Dutch striker moved to Manchester United in a £36.5m (€42.5m, $45.8m) move over the summer, but has scored just the one goal – on debut against Fulham – from 18 appearances and has cut a pretty miserable figure in that time. Now, amid claims that new United boss Amorim simply does not fancy him, talk of a potential return to Italy in the January transfer window is rapidly gathering pace.

Indeed, Juventus are being strongly linked with a move for Zirkzee, a move that would make plenty of sense given the Bianconeri are now managed by Thiago Motta, his mentor and coach at his previous club, Bologna.

And while the Old Lady are understood to be keen to bring the six-times capped Netherlands star to Turin in the winter, tight finances at the Serie A giants means they may have to get creative if they are to pull off a deal.

Over the weekend, it was suggested by multiple Italian reports that Motta was prepared to offer his own summer signing, Luiz, to United in a straight swap deal, with the Brazilian star also not having the expected impact at his new club.

However, that suggestion has very quickly been denied by TuttoJuve, who claim they have been informed by officials at the club they have no interest in such a swap deal and that such claims are nonsense.

Branding Luiz ‘untouchable’, it’s claimed Juventus expect their summer signing from Aston Villa to soon start asserting his authority and they are not ready to turn their back on him after just nine appearances.

Interestingly, though, while it’s claimed Luiz will not be offered as part of a swap, there is no actual denial of interest in reuniting Zirkzee with Motta and multiple reports continue to push claims that Juventus will look into a potential summer deal.

Furthermore, Tuttosport claims Juventus are ‘watching the player’s situation from a distance’ amid claims that Amorim has already decided he has seen enough of the Dutch striker to know he will not fit into his system at Old Trafford.

Juventus hold genuine Zirkzee interest as Amorim airs frustrations

Furthermore, sources confirmed to us last week that Juventus are very much keen on Zirkzee and believe there could well be an opportunity there to sign the striker in the January window.

To that end, we have been informed that Juventus’ sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli recently made a concrete approach to Zirkzee’s representatives but was bluntly informed that a dry loan with salary splitting is not a suitable solution for United.

However, while they would struggle to cover the cost of his transfer fee in the winter, they could still look into a possible loan-to-buy arrangement if all parties were in agreement.

It had also been reported that the Bianconeri would ask United to cover a portion of the star’s wages to help facilitate a deal. However, we can confirm this is not an option that the Premier League giants are currently considering.

In addition, we can also reveal that Zirkzee has not asked to leave, even if his relationship with Juventus boss Motta is excellent.

However, the writing does appear to be on the wall for Zirkzee at Old Trafford.

He came off the bench in Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Ipswich and his tendency to drop deep and try and build the attacks rather than finish them is understood to be of frustration to Amorim.

And the new United boss had a warning for the player in the immediate aftermath of that Portman Road stalemate.

“I think that [decision-making] is a concern, you don’t need to coach them at this level,” Amorim told Sky Sports.

“You have to keep the ball and know the momentum to put the ball in front. Sometimes you feel that you can’t keep the ball and you [have to] put the ball in front.

“Then you have like we are in the end of the game, we were around the box with two strikers. Josh [Zirkzee] has to understand that he has to go to the box to have the crosses.

“So we are doing some things that were not at the right moment, so that is something we have to address.

“Sometimes people talk about the 3-4-3, but that is not the concern, the system is the system but the understanding of the game is what we have to improve a lot in this area.”

Latest Man Utd news: Mbappe told to join United as Bundesliga striker is eyed

Meanwhile, Real Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappe has been told by a French football expert that he needs to consider a move to a side like Manchester United if he is to return to top form and with his favoured position at the Bernabeu already taken by Vinicius Junior.

While stopping short of branding Mbappe a failure, Cyril Linette has offered the World Cup winner some sage advice after explaining why life at Old Trafford may actually suit him better.

Any move for Mbappe, though, would be financially unviable and it’s expected they will have more modest targets if and when they decide to bolster their frontline.

To that end, the Red Devils are reported to be looking at two possible arrivals from the Bundesliga in the form of Victor Boniface and Omar Marmoush both coming under surveillance.

While United have also been strongly linked with Viktor Gyokeres, the Red Devils believe a move for either the Bayer Leverkusen or Eintracht Frankfurt stars would be easier to pull off.

Elsewhere, Amorim is reported to have informed INEOS of the six signings he needs to make at Old Trafford to transform United’s fortunes.

How long will it be before Man Utd get rid of Joshua Zirkzee?

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