Manchester United’s wantaway £36.5m man told he could have surprise route back into team

Manchester United outcast Joshua Zirkzee has been told that his Old Trafford career isn’t over.

This is the view of talkSPORT’s Alex Crook, who suggested Champions League football for the Red Devils next season could lead to more minutes for Zirkzee.

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By the end of the season, Man United would have only played in 40 games across all competitions.

This is because they were knocked out of the first possible rounds in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup and they weren’t in Europe.

Michael Carrick has favoured Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko in the no.9 role, meaning Zirkzee has barely been involved.

The expectation is that he will leave in the summer following a £36.5million move from Bologna to Old Trafford in the summer of 2024 to play under Erik ten Hag.

Ten Hag was then sacked and Ruben Amorim replaced him and often favoured Zirkzee over Rasmus Hojlund.

But since Carrick’s arrival as interim manager, the 24-year-old hasn’t started in the Premier League.

However, talkSPORT’s Chief Football Correspondent Crook can see Zirkzee staying and playing more next year.

On the latest episode of Inside Devils, he said: “If you’re looking at Zirkzee, by the way, because he came on at the end, you know, he held the ball up well.

“He’s obviously got good technical ability. I’m wondering now, with the extra games, with the fact he might be suited for European football, could there still be a role for Joshua Zirkzee?”

Host and broadcaster Flex responded and said: “It depends how Michael Carrick sees it.

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“If someone slaps down £40million for Joshua Zirkzee, or £35million what we paid for him, roughly, maybe United will look at that.

“But then you have to be able to reinvest that £35-40million. To turn our attention, though, before we finish the show, there are still games left to play. Some people could call it a dead rubber, but we want to get third.

“We want to make sure we finish third. It is mission complete in terms of getting back in the Champions League.

“We know that, which was the main thing. But how important is it for us to keep finishing on a high and be even more motivated for more wins, as Carrick keeps speaking that they want more, they want more.”

Transfer latest

After the win over Liverpool, Man United are back in the Champions League, so plans are afoot for the summer.

Casemiro is set to depart once his contract is up, while Man United are open to offers for Manuel Ugarte.

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Kobbie Mainoo has signed a new contract that will see him earn around £150,000 per week.

So, engine room additions are looking likely, and Crook spoke about Man United’s midfield search.

He said: “The Mateus Fernandes link was in our notebook several months ago now, he’s a player that they’ve tracked previously.

“He was a player that the old manager knew well, but it could be quite a sensible pick-up if West Ham go down, because they might sign three midfielders, but they’re not going to sign three £80-100million midfielders. I think they have to be quite clever with what they invest.

“That’s why Hayden Hackney at Middlesbrough, someone that Michael Carrick knows well, is on their radar.

“Alex Scott down at Bournemouth, we’ve spoken about in the past. Aurelien Tchouameni, Ederson at Atalanta, all cheaper than the likes of Elliot Anderson and Sandro Tonali.

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“I think Elliot Anderson’s going to go to Manchester City. I’ve said that to you before.

“Tonali, I think, would prefer to go back to Italy than stay in the Premier League, but I’m not sure that any of those Serie A clubs can afford him.

“The Carlos Baleba itch has never really been scratched, even though he’s not had a stellar season at Brighton.

“I think the recruitment team at Old Trafford see him as someone who can complement Kobbie Mainoo, because again, that shows you how far Mainoo has come from a sort of bench warmer who wanted to leave to a first team regular.

“They’re not looking at someone to replace Kobbie anymore. They’re looking at someone to go in and play alongside him. That could well be Carlos Baleba, and I think they’re willing to forgive the fact he’s not had a great season with Brighton.

“They still see that he’s got the attributes, but it’ll come down to price.

“Ultimately, there was a story in The Athletic that they might be able to get him for £50million.

“I’ve got to tell you, my sources at Brighton laugh that suggestion out of town that they still see him as potentially sort of Moises Caicedo level of money. It’s going to be really interesting to see where they do actually settle, but the options are there.

“Adam Wharton always seems to have gone a bit quiet, to be fair, and I think he may well be Liverpool bound.

“My issue with him has always been the energy levels. I’ve watched him a lot and he seems to empty out during games quite often, gets taken off with sort of half an hour remaining, and I wonder if United have got concerns over that.”