Man Utd fans totally shocked after seeing Everton’s offer for Joshua Zirkzee
Manchester United fans were shocked to learn about the offer their club turned down for Joshua Zirkzee. The Dutch striker seemed like he might leave Old Trafford, as he wasn’t really in the plans and had been linked with a move away.
Despite this, Zirkzee is still with United, even after Everton showed interest in signing him right before the transfer deadline. Zirkzee joined United from Bologna in 2024 for £36.5 million. Everton made a late push for him after their hoped-for deal for striker Folarin Balogun from AS Monaco fell through. Balogun was even at Everton’s training ground, but problems with his medical exam led Everton to rethink the deal. While sorting that out, they looked into getting Zirkzee on loan.
David Ornstein from The Athletic said Zirkzee was interested in the move. According to Lyall Thomas from Sky Sports, Everton offered United a £10 million loan fee and were ready to pay Zirkzee’s full wages. But United decided to say no, so Zirkzee will stay with them at least until January, even though other forwards like Benjamin Sesko, Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha, and Marcus Rashford are ahead of him when it comes to playing time.
Many United fans were confused by this decision. One fan tweeted, “Dumb if true. He won’t get more than 10 games.” Another said, “Everton were willing to pay a transfer fee for a loan and we still said no???” A third fan added, “These guys are crazy. £10 million just to loan him out, and they refused.”
Everton had almost paid £40 million for Balogun earlier, then switched to a lower fixed fee with bonuses, which Monaco accepted. A deal was even sent to the Premier League after the deadline, allowing the clubs to finalize it later. But Balogun changed his mind and left the training ground without signing.
This is a big blow for Everton, who also lost striker Beto to Fiorentina for £17 million. Now, manager David Moyes only has one experienced striker, Thierno Barry, after their efforts to sign Zirkzee and Tammy Abraham from Aston Villa fell through. On a brighter note, Jack Grealish returned to Everton on loan from Manchester City, who also sold Iliman Ndiaye to Everton for £65 million. Everton also signed Ainsley Maitland-Niles from Lyon for £4 million and sold Nathan Paterson to Torino.
Their squad looks thin, especially after they sold Tim Iroegbunam to Hull City for £15 million. Fans got upset when it seemed like young player Harrison Armstrong was being sold to Nottingham Forest, but the club later changed their minds.
Everton will face United at the Hill Dickinson Stadium this Sunday.