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Rasmus Hojlund scored his first Premier League goal after more than 1000 minutes of league football against Aston Villa.
While it was undoubtedly a massive moment for the Dane and a heartfelt one as well, it really spoke volumes about the pressure Manchester United’s scattergun recruitment has put on the developing shoulders of a 20-year-old.
United failed to sign a striker in the summer beyond Hojlund and as a result, the exciting youngster is the club’s loan hope of a successful season.
To remedy that, United were preparing a bid to sign former Bayern Munich man, now playing for FC Bologna, Joshua Zirzkee.
However, recently Marco Di Vaio, Bologna’s Sporting Director, poured cold water on any team’s intention to sign the player.
Talking to Italian outlet Gazzetta Dello Sport, Di Vaio said that he is unlikely to sanction to a transfer for his “top player” in January.
On the potential price, he said that Bayern Munich have an advantage over the others as they negotiated a “release clause” specific to them valued at €40 million.
Other clubs, including Manchester United, will have to enter into hard negotiations with the Serie A team to extract their “unique player”.
He said: “How many phone calls have we received? None. And we wouldn’t answer anyway. Joshua is a nine and a half [a cross between a striker and a playmaker], yes, but he doesn’t resemble anyone: a unique player.
“Release clause? Valid only for Bayern [€40m], articulated. For the other clubs the price is open… in January our top players will not move.”
Zirkzee has started to make good on the early potential everyone saw at Bayern in his younger days.
This season, he scored eight and created four in just 19 appearances across all competitions which has put him on the radar of top clubs like United and AC Milan.
However, it looks like those clubs will have to be at the mercy of Bayern not triggering their option, as well as Di Vaio not driving a hard bargain, especially in January.
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