Joshua Zirkzee is one of the players who could exit Man Utd this summer, but before that happens, a familiar problem is surfacing.
When and if Joshua Zirkzee leaves Man Utd, he will become the first Ineos signing to also leave the club under the part-owners.
That’s a race between Manuel Ugarte and the Dutchman, with both failing the Omar Berrada standard of proving themselves at Old Trafford in two years.
The case for Zirkzee is complicated a bit, however, due to a familiar problem surfacing.
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Man Utd face Joshua Zirkzee problem
When United bought Zirkzee, the main difference from all the deals done under the Glazers was that Ineos settled on sensible wages.
In theory, that makes the player easier to move on in case things don’t work out, which has been the case for most players the club has had to sell in the last decade or so.
Furthermore, Zirkzee has shown that his playing style might not be suited to English football, but he’s more than capable of contributing to a less intense league.
As expected, interest arrived from Italian teams, where he made his name with his exploits for Bologna.
However, despite Ineos signing him for a sensible fee and wages, they are now facing a familiar problem.
Gazzetta dello Sport reports that AS Roma are interested in Zirkzee, but are only willing to offer around £22 million for his services.
For context, that fee will still see United make a PSR profit on him, since he has played out two years of his £34m transfer, but only barely so.
Still, considering he has improved his game and has a history of success in Italy, that is a derisory lowball offer from Roma, proving that United still have a long way to go when it comes to selling well.
Ineos facing ghosts of Man Utd’s past
Roma’s offer proves that wages at Old Trafford were just an excuse for other clubs to get players on the cheap, because the club was never good at selling under the Glazers.
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It speaks volumes that Rasmus Hojlund moving to Napoli for a combined £43 million stands at fourth in Man Utd’s most expensive sales of all time.
At some point, Ineos have to put their foot down and not engage with such low bids, which make no sense from a financial or sporting perspective.
They are fighting the ghosts of United’s past under the Glazers, which will take some time to overcome.
Until then, they need to harden their stance despite facing familiar problems with their own signings.
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