Joshua Zirkzee offered nightmare Man United escape route ahead of Ruben Amorim call

Joshua Zirkzee has been offered an escape route from Manchester United with Juventus exploring the possibility of signing him if Dusan Vlahovic leaves. The 23-year-old has endured a nightmare start to his United career after joining from Bologna for £36.5million in the summer, scoring just once in 16 appearances.

Zirkzee netted the winner as a second-half substitute on his debut against Fulham, but his form has been dreadful since. In fact, the 23-year-old has failed to find the scoresheet in his last 15 matches. Rasmus Hojund's return to fitness has left the Dutchman out-of-favour and down the pecking order.

The former Bayern Munich forward has an opportunity to revive his United career under new head coach Ruben Amorim, but there has been talk that he could leave the club in January. According to Fabrizio Romano's Daily Briefing, Juventus are interested in Zirkzee and eyeing up a possible move.

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It comes as Juventus continue to monitor the situation of Napoli's Victor Osimhen, who is 'almost certainly not going to stay at Galatasaray' beyond his season-long loan spell. The Nigerian joined the Turkish club on a temporary deal in September and has since scored eight goals in nine appearances this season.

But Juventus are looking to sign Osimhen from parent club Napoli next summer amid concerns over the future of Vlahovic, who has been linked with a move to the Premier League. Zirkzee and Osimhen appear to be Thiago Motta's preferred options to replace Vlahovic at this stage.

Zirkzee was handed a rare start during Ruud van Nistelrooy's first game as interim head coach against Leicester, but he flattered to deceive and has been a substitute in each of their last three games. It remains to be seen how much Zirkzee will be used by Amorim ahead of his first game against Ipswich, however.

Speaking on Zirkzee earlier this month, Van Nistelrooy decided to heap praise on the striker. He said: "Josh came in and he's a young player with a lot of potential.

"He is a typical No.9 in the sense that his hold up play is very good, he's very strong in combination play. He's a different type than Rasmus because Rasmus is more of a No.9 who plays high up the pitch and he's getting in the back of defenders.

"Josh is more of a player who is coming toward the ball and gets the team playing. In the Crystal Palace game, I thought he was excellent and showed one of his best performances.

"Another one with a lot of talent, he's a good age and has a lot of potential to develop. We have to look after him, give him time because he will get better and will be a very good player."