The teams that want Joshua Zirkzee will have to wait to concretely start tussling to acquire him. His €40M release clause is valid from July 1st to August 15th. Therefore, they have about a month to convince him to leave Bologna, which he seems in no rush to do, La Gazzetta dello Sport informs.
Milan are ready to compete with the Premier League powerhouses for the Rossoblù star. His price tag is lower than other of their rumored targets, especially Viktor Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko. But they’ll have to come to terms with his entourage and the player first.
The first part might be challenging. According to Corriere dello Sport (via Tag24), his agent Kia Joorabchian demands lofty commissions, €10/15M. He’d prefer Zirkzee to transfer to the Premier League, where there’s more money to be made. Arsenal are very interested as well.
The Dutchman hinted he’d like to continue with Bologna in a recent interview. On the other hand, he earns just €900k annually, and his salary could easily triple, if not more, if he transferred to a big team. That’s part of what makes a particularly enticing target.
It’s a little odd that the details are trickling in little by little and not all right away. The tidbits probably won’t stop here, and one has to wonder who’s pulling the strings. There’s a chance the deal becomes too expensive for Milan’s liking. They are doing a lot of homework on more affordable center-forwards as of late.
I’ll never play for AC Milan, not even under Daniel Fonseca
Milan are expected to hire Daniel Fonseca next week, and he might bring some players he’s very familiar with, for instance Yusuf Yazici. The midfielder talked up the coach and dished on his future.
“As natural, fans expected me to leave after a botched loan spell at Trabzonspor. I went to the manager and told him I wanted to prove my worth and that I could still help the team. He trusted me and asked me to get to work. I like him and learned a lot from him. I love his sincerity and how close he’s with players.”
Yazici could become a cheap option for Milan since his contract is about to expire.
“I don’t know what the future holds for me, but I’m fine at Lille. It’s pleasing to see that many important clubs are interested in me, but I wish to focus on the Euro first. I’ve still many dreams to chase in football. Surely, you can’t be indifferent to a club like this. I recall Ronaldinho, David Bekham… We’ll see.”
Yazici further lauded the likely new Milan boss.
“Fonseca taught me a more mature brand of football. I’m sharper in the attack and have fun defending. I would have never guessed I would say it in the past. I like to participate in the build-up and play behind a striker. He showed me that that wasn’t enough. I wasn’t tracking back and recovering balls enough. I’m older now and understand the importance of contributing to the passive phase, especially in today’s football.”
