Tearful Zirkzee in abrupt U-turn on Man Utd future after Newcastle ...

Joshua Zirkzee is wanted by three clubs after deciding that his early substitution against Newcastle is evidence enough that he needs to leave Manchester United as soon as possible after being reduced to tears by Ruben Amorim, though Gary Neville has expressed sympathy to the player in the wake of his withdrawal.

The Red Devils slumped to a woeful 2-0 home defeat to Newcastle on Monday evening as Eddie Howe’s side inflicted a fifth loss in six Premier League games on Manchester United to leave them a worrying seven points clear of the relegation zone. As a result, the pressure has been stacked on Amorim’s shoulders, with his team selections questioned and with Gary Neville admitting that the recently-appointed Portuguese coach cannot be considered safe from the sack if the rot continues.

However, an even more immediate casualty of Monday’s loss could come in the form of Zirkzee, with the Netherlands forward cruelly substituted off after just 33 minutes with Kobbie Mainoo brought on in his place.

At the beginning of December, we reported that the month would be decisive in Zirkzee’s evaluations of his future. Indeed, the 23-year-old summer signing from Bologna had decided that, until the match against Newcastle, he would not consider any offer to leave Old Trafford, even temporarily.

Sources had informed us that the player was focused on taking advantage of the nine matches scheduled in the month to gain Amorim’s trust and prove himself worthy of a long-term future under the new manager.

However, despite starting the month in the best possible fashion and scoring a brace in the 4-0 defeat of Everton, it has been all downhill ever since. And the events of Monday evening have now confirmed to Zirkzee that the time for change is now and that he now needs to seek what has been described to us as ‘mental serenity’, something that the player has been lacking for too long now.

As a result, we understand that Zirkzee has now asked his entourage – who this summer had forced his hand on the transfer to United instead of AC Milan, given that the Premier League side paid more commissions to agents – to evaluate the proposals coming from Serie A. It’s a league that Zirkzee knows well and one he now believes can help him rediscover his confidence.

Two of those clubs exploring a potential deal are well documented with both Juventus and AC Milan among his suitors.

However, new information received by TEAMtalk reveals that a return to former side Bologna is also a growing possibility. Despite being one step away from elimination in the Champions League, Bologna’s bid to re-sign the player – even on a short-term loan for the remainder of the season – is gaining momentum.

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Zirkzee open to Man Utd exit as Gary Neville expressed sympathy

We understand that Bologna have now made clear their willingness to welcome the player back on loan, with Zirkzee still hugely appreciated by the Serie A outfit and having dragged them to their historic UCL qualification last year.

Either way, Zirkzee’s request is clear: he has asked his agents to find a destination in Italy (even temporarily) where the pressure is not too much. Juventus and Milan remain a strong possibility, even if both are experiencing difficult seasons of their own and need players ready to face the pressure that will characterize the second part of the season.

As it stands, nothing is decided yet over  Zirkzee’s future, but what is certain at the moment is that in the coming days, his entourage will work intensely to find a new destination for the player away from Old Trafford and with a return to Serie A the player’s top preference.

Reflecting on his early substitution against Newcastle, Neville expressed deep sympathy for the star.

“I actually feel sorry for him, I really do,” Neville told Sky Sports. “I know that he’s earning a lot of money here but there is a human being in there that’s basically being cheered off by his own fans and that is brutal. I’ve not seen that too many times at Old Trafford in the 43 years that I’ve been coming here.”

Amorim also offered his own explanation for his withdrawal, telling Sky Sports:  “Josh is a player of Manchester United that we want more power sometimes in front.

“We are suffering always the first goal at set-pieces so today we had more guys towards set-pieces.

“We are trying to cope with every problem in the team but sometimes we have a lot of problems. Sometimes you push one side and the other side is open.

“It’s really clear that Newcastle was the better team.”

Man Utd need two signings in January, Neville claims

With big questions now starting to be asked of Amorim, Neville has suggested the club needs two signings in January to give the Portuguese coach a fighting chance of turning the situation around.

Neville was asked by Monday Night Football presenter, Dave Jones, what signings would help Amorim in the here and now.

Neville replied: “Definitely the positions that… look, you could say get a world-class centre-forward, get [Alexander] Isak, but that’s never going to happen.

“I think if you were starting you have to start with the fundamentals of this system which is the wing-backs, they hold it together.

“If you don’t have the wing-backs functioning up and down, that can attack and defend equally as good – and there aren’t many of those around by the way because there aren’t many teams who play wing-backs – then you’re going to struggle.

“So you need two unique players in those wide areas and I think that’s the starting point.

“That’s nothing against [Noussair] Mazraoui and [Diogo] Dalot, they’re very willing and doing the best job that they can. But to me, they’re the two areas [that need addressing] in this system.”

On the outgoings front, Ben Jacobs has provided an update for us on the future of Marcus Rashford, with three Saudi clubs in the mix and with PSG’s stance on a January move also coming to light.

In the meantime, the first offer has come in for Antony, with a tempting offer arriving on the table for the struggling Brazilian.

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