A loan deal that could have offered Joshua Zirkzee a genuine route out of Manchester United has fallen through, and the reason makes for uncomfortable reading at Old Trafford. According to Transfer Feed, Fiorentina held talks about signing the Dutch striker temporarily with an option to make the move permanent. Those talks broke down. Not because the numbers didn’t work. Not because of a wage dispute. But because the Florentine club simply decided they preferred someone else, specifically Everton’s Beto.
Manchester United transfer news: Why Fiorentina said no to Joshua Zirkzee
That stings. It rarely gets more pointed for Man United than a Serie A side actively walking away from your player to pursue a Premier League rival’s striker instead. Zirkzee, now 25, remains stranded at Old Trafford with no clear exit route in sight as the transfer deadline looms.
Juventus are reportedly coming back with interest in a permanent or obligation-to-buy structure, and Zirkzee is said to have already knocked back a €5 million loan proposal from Fiorentina. But with Fiorentina now out of the picture, his options have narrowed considerably.
Why Zirkzee never worked at United
The honest version of this story starts at the very beginning. United paid £36.5 million to bring Zirkzee from Bologna in 2024, selling him to their fans as something different: a false nine, technically gifted, capable of operating between the lines in tight spaces. The Dutchman is 1.93 metres tall but plays nothing like a traditional target man. He drops deep, links play, and uses his first touch to find teammates rather than batter defenders.
Manchester United fans loved him on arrival. The reality was bleaker.
In the 2025/26 season, he managed 2 goals and 1 assist across 24 Premier League appearances, spending just 624 minutes on the pitch in total. Nineteen of those appearances came from the bench. Zirkzee completed a mere 178 successful passes all campaign. Against Sunderland in May 2026, given 65 minutes to prove himself, he registered zero shots on target and won just 4 of 11 physical duels. Michael Carrick’s United press aggressively and attack with pace. Zirkzee slows things down.
Benjamin Sesko slots into that system without blinking. He stretches defensive lines, runs channels, and gives Carrick exactly the directness the system demands. Zirkzee operates in the same pocket of space as Bruno Fernandes, a pocket that the Portuguese international owns completely and nobody’s taking from him.
Carrick has preferred Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, and Marcus Rashford in his attacking rotation. Zirkzee hasn’t featured even once in United’s opening games of the 2026/27 season against Hull City and Ipswich Town. He’s been an unused substitute. Twice.
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His confidence has taken a battering. Serie A’s slower tactical rhythm, where the Dutchman’s link-up ability and spatial intelligence genuinely matter, remains his most credible destination. But with Fiorentina gone and Juventus yet to formalise anything, the clock is ticking.
