According to Corriere dello Sport (via SportWitness), Arsenal They are willing to pay a high fee to sign Bologna centre-forward Joshua Zirkzee this summer.
The London heavyweights were keen to land a new centre-forward and have been linked with many names. Zirkzee is one of those and Corriere dello Sport They claim Arsenal have the advantage in the chase.
AC Milan are also interested in the former Bayern player, but could have difficulties signing him due to the high commission that agent Kia Joorabchian must pay to close a deal.
Zirkzee has a £34m release clause in his current contract with the Serie A side. Joorabchian plans to demand between £9m and £13m, which Arsenal would have no problem paying to sign the striker.
Talented forward
The Dutchman had a good 2023/24 campaign with 12 goals and 7 assists to his name. He was a key catalyst behind Bologna's fantastic league season, which saw them qualify for the Champions League.
Ideally, Bologna would prefer to keep him for a year or so, but they could be helpless, considering there are several European clubs, including Juventus, who are interested in activating his release clause.
Arsenal could have an advantage over the Serie A giants due to their better financial power. The Gunners could be willing to pay a higher agent fee to be in first position to sign the 22-year-old.
Zirkzee has similar traits to Kai Havertz in the last 3rd. He has an aerial presence and can hold up the game effectively. The young striker also has good positional sense and can dribble past his opponents quickly.
according to Understand, Zirkzee scored 12 goals in the league last season with an xG of 9.11. With better creative players around him at Arsenal, he could become a potent goalscorer for the London club in the long term.
If Arsenal were to sign him, there could be at least one departure from the front row. Eddie Nketiah could be the player to make way, as he barely came off the bench during the second half of the 2023/24 season.
