Man Utd star set to push for January exit despite Ruben Amorim's attempts to block Serie A move

Zirkzee, who moved to Old Trafford from Bologna in the summer of 2024,  has made only 11 appearances for United across all competitions. However, only four of those were starts, playing 372 minutes in total, and he has scored just once, providing the equaliser in a 2-1 win away at Crystal Palace at the start of December.

The Dutch attacker has been linked with a move away from United ever since the summer, and there has been growing speculation over a return to Serie A, where he previously thrived with Bologna. However, ESPN reported earlier this week that United might wait until the latter stages of the January window to decide whether they will sanction the Netherlands international's exit. The Red Devils are already having to make do without attackers Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo, who are away at the Africa Cup of Nations, while captain Bruno Fernandes could miss around a month of action after picking up an injury against Aston Villa last weekend.

Despite United's firm stance on his move, Zirkzee has reportedly "said yes" to Serie A giants AS Roma over a move in the January window, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport. The report adds that the 24-year-old had held positive talks with Roma sporting director Ricky Massara and manager Gian Piero Gasperini and after that he has verbally agreed to join the Italian side.

Gasperini has also assured Zirkzee that he perfectly fits in his 3-4-2-1 system, which has further convinced the Dutchman, who is looking for regular game ahead of the 2026 World Cup in the summer. The attacker, however, will only leave once stars like Amad and Bryan Mbeumo return to the club from AFCON duties.

Amorim had earlier made it very clear that they would only sanction a transfer if appropriate replacements could be found. The Portuguese had said: "'It's going to be hard for someone to leave the club if we don't get a substitution. We are short. Even with the full squad we are short for something that can happen. We are a club with a big responsibility. We are dealing with all these issues and in [the media's] heads, in my head, in everybody's head, we need to win every game. It doesn't matter. There are no excuses."

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Amorim revealed earlier this month that United are prepared to strengthen in January, provided the "perfect" players for the long term become available. However, the former Sporting CP manager has stressed the importance of not making panic buys over the winter period - a "mistake" he believes the club have made in the past. 

"We can improve, we have space to have more players but we have a plan and we need to bring in players that we know, obviously it is hard to know for sure that everything is going to work,” Amorim told Sky Sports. "But we need to be certain with the players that we bring in, if we are not sure, if everyone is not aligned, it is better not to bring anyone and work with the players that we have. "That is clear for me. Maybe I should be different, like so many other managers, but that is my thinking for the club and I think the board thinks that, too. "We cannot make the same mistakes we did in the past and we need to survive these moments because we have players coming back from internationals and injury.”

Like Zirkzee, young English midfielder Kobbie Mainoo has also struggled for minutes under Amorim this season and is now pushing for a move away from Old Trafford. Speaking on Mainoo's future, Amorim, however, said: "Kobbie Mainoo will have the opportunity, he has all the time. He played in different positions - we talked about the position of Casemiro, he can do that. If you play with a three, he can play like we did in the last game with the position of Mason Mount, he can play there. He is going to be the future of Manchester United, that is my feeling, he just needs to wait for his chance and everything can change in football in two days."

The Red Devils will end 2025 with a Premier League clash against relegation-threated Wolves on January 30.