Joshua Zirkzee is undergoing his Manchester United medical today, as the Bologna striker and Netherlands international is set to become the club’s first signing of the summer. He’ll also become the first signing of the Ratcliffe/INEOS Era.
As such, he’s currently a top trending term on Twitter/X. All that excitement on social media causing his name to go viral is a great thing!
??? Joshua Zirkzee day has started with medical tests for new Manchester United player.
Face to face meeting with Erik ten Hag will follow then he’s gonna sign contract until June 2029 with option for further season.
€42,5m fee to be paid in three years to Bologna. pic.twitter.com/vG0H4BSIqn
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 12, 2024
Manchester United at Rosenborg FYIs
Kickoff: Mon July 15, 6pm, Lerkendal Stadion, Trondheim, Norway
Competition: Club Friendly
Man United Preview Content: Team News Starting XI Prediction
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
Fun Fact: this is just the third ever meeting between the two sides. The previous two were also friendlies.
However, the very first Tweet that comes up is worthless, because it is fake. We won’t share it here, because it’s a fraud tweet and we don’t amplify disinformation and misinformation on this website. It’s a photo of a player running on a treadmill while wearing a breathing analyzer.
The dead giveaway on the pic not being of Zirkzee is this- the player is wearing a shirt with a Bayern Munich badge.
Anyway, be sure to avoid that post; don’t amplify it! Again, stuff is like this is exactly how and why Elon Musk utterly destroyed that platform after he took it over.
Moving on to actual facts, United decided against meeting the €40 million (£34 million) release clause in the Zirkzee contract as a means of signing him. Instead, United will pay €42.5million (£36 million) via a series of payments over the next three years.
So consider this buying a player on layaway; kind of, sort of.
More on the Zirkzee transfer saga here, here, here and here. More signings are expected to come, and soon. Matthijs de Ligt (more on this here), Manuel Ugarte (more on him here) or Leny Yoro (more on that narrative here) could all be the next addition.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.