Joshua Zirkzee’s Man Utd plans revealed as Roma strike alternative double deal

Roma have told Joshua Zirkzee they could not wait any longer for the Dutch star and quickly turned to his compatriot Donyell Malen, we can reveal.

Roma began the month trying to secure deals for Manchester United striker Zirkzee and Atletico Madrid’s Giacomo Raspadori, but the Eternal City outfit could not strike agreements for either. They were not willing to wait and had alternative options all along, which they have acted on.

Roma have agreed terms with Marseille to land young forward Robinio Vaz and have also struck a loan deal with Aston Villa for Malen.

The latter is joining on loan with an obligation to buy worth £25million (€29m) if certain criteria are met. Vaz, meanwhile, landed in Rome on Tuesday and was seen attending the Coppa Italia defeat to Torino.

Over the weekend, Roma sporting director Frederic Massara said about the Zirkzee deal: “Right now, United have closed off all transfer discussions; it seems highly unlikely to me.”

Sources close to Zirkzee have informed us that Roma told his camp over the weekend that they were ready to move on from him.

But United informed Roma that they could not make a decision at that point. We can reveal that Zirkzee, whilst wanting the move, was understanding of the situation.

United’s footballing department have always had huge belief in Zirkzee and have been very happy with how he has reacted and dealt with many issues during his time at the club, although United have also understood his frustrations.

Zirkzee is now accepting that a move away from Old Trafford this month is less likely, but he is hoping to impress new interim boss Michael Carrick and play a part in the second half of the season.

The forward remains concerned that his World Cup hopes might be disappearing, given his limited game time at United.