Joshua Zirkzee to Fiorentina: How likely is Manchester United switch? Football Whispers Index score

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Joshua Zirkzee to Fiorentina: How likely is Manchester United switch? Football Whispers Index score
Joshua Zirkzee to Fiorentina - Photo by Iconsport/Fredrik Aremyr/Bildbyran/Lisa Guglielmi/LiveMedia

Fiorentina have submitted an official bid to sign Joshua Zirkzee on loan from Manchester United, with Fabrizio Romano confirming the €5m loan fee includes a buy clause and describing the deal as on.

The 25-year-old has managed just nine goals in 75 appearances across two seasons at Old Trafford and fell behind Benjamin Sesko in the pecking order under Michael Carrick, sitting as an unused substitute for the opening-day defeat at Hull City.

With Moise Kean on the verge of a €40m-plus move to Como, Fiorentina need a replacement centre-forward before the 1 September deadline, and a player who won Serie A's Under-23 Player of the Season at Bologna in 2024 is a natural fit.

The Football Whispers Index scores every transfer rumour across five weighted factors. Read how it works here.

Joshua Zirkzee to Fiorentina rated ‘very likely'

Joshua Zirkzee to Fiorentina — Football Whispers Index
Football Whispers Index: Transfer predictor

Joshua Zirkzee to Fiorentina

Very likely
Man Utd are eager to let Zirkzee leave, Fiorentina urgently need a Kean replacement, and an official €5m loan bid is already on the table.
Updated
Financial viability21 / 25
Buying club need18 / 20
Player motivation8 / 15
Selling club incentive17 / 20
Market momentum17 / 20
Financial viability21 / 25
  • The loan fee of €5m is a fraction of the £36.5m Man Utd paid Bologna for Zirkzee in July 2024, making this one of the cheapest deals of the window for a player of his profile.
  • Zirkzee earns £105,000 per week at Old Trafford, which would make him Fiorentina's highest-paid player once Moise Kean completes his move to Como.
  • Fiorentina are poised to receive over €40m from the Kean sale, comfortably covering the loan fee and the wage commitment in a single transaction.
Buying club need18 / 20
  • Moise Kean started 23 of his 26 Serie A appearances in 2025/26, scored eight goals and is on the verge of a €40m-plus transfer to Como, leaving Fiorentina without a first-choice centre-forward.
  • The remaining CF options are M'Bala Nzola, who managed one league goal all season, and Mateo Pellegrino, a recent arrival from Parma with no Serie A track record at this level.
  • Zirkzee ranks in the 97th percentile among forwards for touches and the 92nd for chances created on FotMob, offering a build-up-oriented striker profile Fiorentina do not currently have in the squad.
Player motivation8 / 15
  • Zirkzee played 608 Premier League minutes in 2025/26, starting fewer than half of his 24 league appearances, and sat as an unused substitute for Man Utd's opening-day defeat at Hull City on 22 August.
  • Fiorentina finished 15th in Serie A last season and have no European football in 2026/27, a significant step down from a Man Utd side competing in the Champions League.
  • A return to Serie A, where Zirkzee scored 11 goals in 34 league appearances for Bologna in 2023/24 and won the league's Under-23 Player of the Season award, would guarantee him the starting role he has lost at Old Trafford.
Selling club incentive17 / 20
  • Benjamin Sesko, signed from RB Leipzig in August 2025 for £41.6m, is Man Utd's established first-choice striker, with Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo available as auxiliary options in the final third.
  • Zirkzee scored two Premier League goals in 24 appearances last season, down from three in 32 the year before, and his Transfermarkt market value has dropped from a peak of €50m in November 2024 to €20m.
  • Man Utd are actively exploring replacement strikers before the 1 September deadline, with Nicolo Tresoldi and Jonathan David among the names linked by GiveMeSport on 27 August.
Market momentum17 / 20
  • Fabrizio Romano confirmed an official €5m loan bid from Fiorentina on 27 August, describing the deal as on and confirming a buy clause is included in the proposal.
  • The Athletic independently reported talks over a season-long loan with an option to buy, adding there is optimism a deal can be reached before the 1 September deadline.
  • Gianluca Di Marzio and Tuttomercatoweb have both covered the pursuit from the Italian side, confirming sporting director Fabio Paratici made initial contact with Zirkzee's entourage.
The verdict88 / 100
The number sits in Very likely because both clubs want this done, an official bid is on the table, and there are no rival suitors left in the race after Juventus and Como dropped back.
It happens once Fiorentina and Man Utd agree on the buy clause and Kean's departure to Como formally clears the path.
It dies if the Kean deal collapses, removing Fiorentina's need for a striker, or if a club with Champions League football makes a late approach that gives Zirkzee a reason to wait.

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Byron is a sports journalist based in South Africa. He has a Media degree from the University of Kwa Zulu Natal and has been writing football content since 2019. Byron is also a sports presenter with experience in radio particularly.

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