From Italy: Serie A giants now ‘vigilant’ over £105k-p/w Utd man’s availability in Jan

With the January transfer window fast approaching, INEOS chiefs will already be plotting how they can raise some funds after a summer of extravagant spending.

In what could come as an unprecedented turn of events, they may well offload a player who only joined Manchester United in July.

Indeed, the struggling Joshua Zirkzee has already found himself linked with a move away from Old Trafford on numerous occasions in recent weeks, with a return to the Serie A largely expected to be his most likely destination.

His situation is certainly a perplexing one for fans. Upon signing from Bologna in a £36.5 million deal in the summer window, Zirkzee attempted to dissect his play style by claiming he was neither a No.9 nor a No.10 – he instead views himself as something of a 9.5. In short, he’s not an orthodox centre-forward, but were United aware of that before he put pen to paper?

Zirkzee tipped for Old Trafford exit after only four months

The 23-year-old started the season deployed up front in Rasmus Hojlund’s absence, getting off to a dream start when he opened his account on his debut with a late winner in front of the Stretford End. Such an emphatic moment gave him an ideal platform to build from, given that his counterpart Hojlund was heavily criticised last when it took him 15 Premier League games to find the back of the net last season.

After the Dane did so, the goals flooded in, and he kickstarted a streak of seven goals in six consecutive matches, becoming the youngest player to achieve such a feat when he netted the opener against Luton Town in February.

Zirkzee’s form went in the opposite direction, though; he has yet to add to his tally since the opening day of the campaign despite having a further 16 opportunities to do so.

Alas, such woes in front of goal, along with the fact that he may well struggle to establish a starting role in Ruben Amorim’s 3-4-3 setup, have led to the Netherlands international facing an uncertain future in M16.

Alfredo Pedulla claims that Juventus, who have previously held an interest in the Bayern Munich graduate, are staying ‘vigilant’ as they keep a close eye on how Zirkzee is faring with United. If an opportunity arises for them to acquire him as early as January, they could pounce.