{
  "id": 5251624,
  "title": "Joshua Zirkzee: Surprise suitors plotting January move for United star",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/03/joshua-zirkzee-surprise-suitors-plotting-january-move-for-united-star",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-03T05:05:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/joshua-zirkzee-surprise-suitors-plotting-050500434.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Manchester United striker Joshua Zirkzee remained at Old Trafford despite being heavily linked with a January move. The Dutch forward, who is no longer the first choice at the Theatre of Dreams, was eyed by Napoli and Juventus. Everton also showed interest in the 25-year-old, but no deal materialised. Zirkzee was reportedly open to a loan exit, with the option for the move to be made permanent. Napoli's sporting director, Giovanni Manna, made every effort to bring Zirkzee to the club, but the deal fell through due to the inability to offload Noa Lang. The Partenopei were unable to sell the winger because his transfer value was unattractive to both Atalanta and Ajax. With this obstacle removed, Manna is now planning to rekindle his pursuit of Zirkzee in January. The groundwork for the January move has already been laid due to the good relations between Napoli and Manchester United. A loan deal for Zirkzee has already been agreed upon by the Red Devils, and this will give Manna the chance to put Lang on the market in the autumn. With the squad space freed up at the start of the new year, the Napoli-Manchester United partnership is set to be reactivated, aiming to bring the Dutchman to the club.",
  "summary": "1Manchester United striker Joshua Zirkzee ended up staying at Old Trafford despite being heavily linked with an exit all summer. The Dutch forward is no longer first choice at the Theatre of Dreams, b...",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yahoo Sports",
        "title": "Myles Lewis-Skelly: Why Arsenal gem snubbed a move to United",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/03/myles-lewis-skelly-why-arsenal-gem-snubbed-a-move-to-united",
        "published": "2026-09-03T07:05:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}