Man Utd has chosen to pay a higher amount for Joshua Zirkzee instead of simply activating his release clause

Joshua Zirkzee Playing for Netherlands

A deal is in the works for Manchester United to acquire striker Joshua Zirkzee from Serie A team, Bologna. The agreement will require paying more than Zirkzee's release clause of £34 million.

Manchester United are nearing a deal with Joshua Zirkzee, however they seem likely to surpass the striker's £34 million release clause in terms of payment.

After the Netherlands were eliminated from Euro 2024 by England in a semi-final match on Wednesday, Zirkzee is scheduled to fly to the UK for a medical evaluation on Friday. Despite being substituted during his team's 2-1 defeat, the 24-year-old will make his way overseas for further examination.

Agreement has been reached between United and Bologna, which entails a payment of €42.5m (£35.7m) instead of activating Zirkzee's £34m release clause as the latter would have required full payment.

United will have the option to pay Zirkzee's fee in installments over a period of three years, while also securing him with a five-year contract that includes an additional year extension.

After the Netherlands' exit from Euros, Zirkzee took to social media and expressed his disappointment by saying, "Last night was a huge letdown. Despite this setback, it has been an absolute dream come true for me to represent my team and I feel privileged and thankful for wearing this shirt. To all our Orange fans out there - thank you so much for your relentless support."

Matthijs De Ligt

Matthijs De Ligt is a potential target for the Red Devils, and there are reports of Mason Greenwood's move to Marseille being in jeopardy due to interest from Lazio. United appear willing to offer £43 million to acquire De Ligt from Bayern Munich - he previously worked with manager Erik ten Hag at Ajax but was not utilized during Euro 2024.

Mason Greenwood

Greenwood was initially favored to join Lazio, but Marseille swooped in with a £27 million offer for the striker. However, Marseille's mayor Benoit Payan is speaking out against signing Greenwood due to his 2022 arrest on charges of attempted rape, assault and coercive behavior - which were later dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service. As a result, it seems unlikely that Greenwood will have a future at Old Trafford.

Payan expressed to RMC, "It is unacceptable for my club to be engulfed in disgrace." The signing of Greenwood was met with opposition from numerous Marseille supporters and the hashtag #GreenwoodNotWelcome circulated through social media.

Roberto De Zerbi, the newly appointed Marseille manager and former Brighton coach, has made an attempt to defend Greenwood by stating that United must sell him in order to finance their acquisition of both Zirkzee and De Ligt. When asked about the potential transfer, he responded: "Greenwood is not yet recruited; hence there isn't much information available."

As an international level player and a champion, he's truly impressive. I don't concern myself with personal matters as my focus is purely on the team. Once a player joins our club, they become like one of my children to me - even if we have private talks where I offer guidance or criticism, in public settings I will always be their number one supporter. To put it simply: My players are just like family to me."