Manchester United's disappointing new signing Joshua Zirkzee appears to be a surprise target for Juventus.
The Dutch striker's poor form hit rock bottom in United's 2-0 defeat to Newcastle. He was substituted after just 32 minutes as the Red Devils trailed by two goals and were heading for an embarrassing defeat to Newcastle.
Meanwhile, Juventus have been tracking Zirkzee with the aim of bringing him back to Serie A when the January transfer window opens. The Italian side had even previously expressed their ambition to recruit the Dutch player.
The Turin club want to loan Zirkzee for the rest of the season, although United could insist that the deal include a mandatory buyout clause. The chance for the striker to reunite with former Bologna boss Thiago Motta at Juventus would be appealing.
Juventus are lagging behind in the Serie A title race, nine points behind leaders Atalanta, despite being unbeaten in their first 18 games of the season. However, they are still in the Champions League.
Zirkzee has excelled under Motta at Bologna following his move from Bayern Munich in the summer of 2022. Zirkzee's form prompted Man United to splash out £36.5m for his services last summer.
However, after scoring the winner on his Premier League debut against Fulham, Zirkzee only managed three more goals in his next 26 appearances.
Coach Ruben Amorim's decision to start him against Newcastle backfired, with the home fans cheering as the striker left the pitch, with Zirkzee almost in tears as he made his way to the dressing room.
The problem is, with Marcus Rashford set to leave Old Trafford after making it clear he wants a new challenge, Amorim is unlikely to approve Zirkzee's departure unless a new signing comes along.
"You have to think about the team and sometimes the player. The player is struggling, and I have been in that situation. I felt that Joshua Zirkzee and the team were having a big problem, and at that time I needed to make a change to improve the situation.
We needed another midfielder to control the game and I decided to take Zirkzee off" - Amorim said about the decision to take Zirkzee off early in the loss to Newcastle.
