United play hardball: Zirkzee, Juve and the Osimhen domino

United want more than £26m

Juventus have made their move for Zirkzee, but United are not interested in selling at that price. Football365 reports the offer was formal and official, which makes the rejection a clear statement: if Juve want the Dutch striker, they will need to come back with a bigger number before the window closes tonight.

Zirkzee joined United from Bologna in the summer of 2024 and has had a difficult time at Old Trafford by most measures. A sale would represent a significant loss on his original fee, which makes United's decision to hold firm on price an interesting one, either they genuinely believe a higher offer is coming, or they would rather keep him than sell cheap on deadline day.

The Osimhen piece

Football365 also reports that Victor Osimhen is waiting to join United as a potential replacement, should the Zirkzee deal go through. Osimhen has been one of the most discussed strikers in European football for the better part of two years, spending last season on loan at Galatasaray after his move away from Napoli stalled.

The Arsenal connection mentioned in the report adds another layer. Osimhen has been linked with Arsenal at various points, and if United are genuinely in the frame for him, that is a rivalry that goes well beyond the pitch. The Osimhen link and the Arsenal angle come from a single source with no corroboration at the time of writing, and this is deadline day, when the gap between rumour and reality can be considerable.

How fast this could move

The logic of the domino chain is straightforward enough. Juventus raise their bid, United accept, Zirkzee travels to Turin, Osimhen paperwork gets filed before midnight. In practice, each of those steps is its own negotiation, and deadline day has a habit of collapsing chains exactly like this one at the final link.

What is confirmed, per Football365: a £26m offer was made and rejected. Everything after that is still moving.