£37m Man Utd man now ‘increasingly likely’ to be sold in summer as INEOS ‘actively assess’ replacements

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Stretty News

·25 March 2026

£37m Man Utd man now ‘increasingly likely’ to be sold in summer as INEOS ‘actively assess’ replacements

Joshua Zirkzee’s departure this summer is now looking ‘increasingly likely’ at Manchester United, meaning he could call time on his Old Trafford tenure after only two years.

That’s according to Red Devils insider Sully, who adds that INEOS are ‘actively assessing the striker market’ to begin contemplating potential replacements.

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Zirkzee ranks behind his counterparts in the pecking order

After agreeing a £73 million deal to bring in Benjamin Sesko last summer and also shelling out close to £130m for the acquisitions of Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha, it remains to be seen what kind of forward United will look to bring in.

Even Sesko is struggling for starts this season, despite overseeing his most prolific goalscoring form in a red shirt prior to the international break.

The Slovenian has netted seven goals in his last 10 Premier League appearances, four of which came from the bench. He has started only twice under Michael Carrick thus far.

Why Zirkzee is preparing for premature United exit

Meanwhile, Zirkzee hasn’t started a league game since Ruben Amorim’s penultimate outing in the dugout: a 1-1 draw with rock-bottom Wolverhampton Wanderers at home, when he scored United’s only goal of the game early on before being bizarrely hooked at the interval.

The Dutch international was injured for the first two matches of Carrick’s tenure, and has since featured four times as a substitute and been an unused option on four occasions.

Alas, it doesn’t really come as a surprise to learn that Zirkzee is on his way out.

In the chances, albeit they have been rare, he has been granted, the 24-year-old simply has not had as much of an impact as expected of him; this season, he has scored twice and assisted once in 510 minutes of action.