Struggling Man Utd misfit may miss out on January transfer thanks to Xabi Alonso

Joshua ZIrkzee could miss out on a move to Juventus in January thanks to Xabi Alonso's decision to reduce Patrick Schick's role at Bayer Leverkusen.

The Italian giants are assessing their options in the final third and are looking to add reinforcements to ease the pressure on Dusan Vlahovic. An injury to Arkadiusz Milik will force them onto the market, with Zirkzee seen as more of a summer target.

In the meantime, they are ready to pursue Schick, who is struggling to find minutes for the German champions. Alonso preferred to use Victor Boniface at Leverkusen, leaving the Czech struggling for opportunities.

Juventus have a long-term interest in Schick and are ready to pursue him again, this time on loan, with Manchester United's Dutch striker the man they want this summer despite his disappointing spell with the Premier League giants, reports Gazzetta dello Sports.

The Bianconeri are now led by Thiago Motta, who excelled at Bologna last season. In the Serie A team, Zirkzee was in charge and he had an impressive season in front of goal, which eventually saw the Manchester team come calling and sign him on a deal worth £36.5 million.

However, the transfer was driven by the club's hierarchy, who felt Zirzkee represented good value for money. However, Erik ten Hag did not want to bring him in and was furious when the 23-year-old arrived at Old Trafford with extra weight.

Zirkzee would score the winner for United on his debut as they defeated Fulham on the opening weekend. However, he has since failed to find the net as Ten Hag was frustrated with the situation prior to his dismissal.

It means the Dutchman has not scored in any of his last 14 games for United and it was hoped he could regain some form during his international duty, but Dutch boss Ronald Koeman was in no mood to talk about his striker. “My thoughts on Zirkzee's performance? I'm not going to talk about the performance of individual players,” he said.

There is already talk of a move to Manchester for Sporting Lisbon's Viktor Gyokeres, who excelled under Ruben Amorim and remains one of the most in-form strikers in Europe. That could have consequences for Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund.