Manchester United have been given the opportunity to swap Joshua Zirkzee for Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic this month.
Zirkzee, 23, has had a difficult start to life in the Premier League since joining United from Bologna this summer. But the £36m striker's struggles have not deterred interest from Serie A clubs keen to bring him back to Italy.
Juventus are one of the candidates who are not deterred by Zirkzee's poor form in front of goal. They are even willing to offer Vlahovic as a substitute.
That's according to talkSPORT, who say Juventus would part ways with Arsenal's long-term target of signing Zirkzee in the January transfer window.
Vlahovic, 24, has just 18 months left to fulfill the contract he signed after moving to Turin for £67million in 2022. And with no sign of a contract extension on the horizon, the Italian giants have been thinking outside the box at ways they can take advantage of the Serbian international's potential departure.
It is said that the swap proposal has already been submitted to United, who will have to negotiate to supply new head coach Ruben Amorim with signings this month.
And it could appeal to Amorim and co, as the Red Devils are finding it difficult to score goals in the Premier League this season. No such problems have arisen for Vlahovic, who is Juve's top scorer this season with 12 goals already.
It remains to be seen whether United would approve Zirkzee's departure just six months after signing. A section of fans cheered when the failed striker was substituted just half an hour after the 2-0 defeat to Newcastle, capping his miserable start at the club.
Amorim was recently asked about Zirkzee in the wake of recent speculation about a return to Italy and refused to rule out a possible exit in January.
“I want to keep Josh because he is giving everything and he is trying in training, but we don't know,” he explained. “The window is open and we'll see what happens. We just have to focus on training and take this into the other games. It's only one point, so let's focus on performance for the next games.”
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