Joshua Zirkzee’s agent has played down the prospect of a move to Premier League outfit West Ham United, telling HLN that the Bayern Munich loanee could stay at Anderlecht.
Zirkzee made headlines for all the wrong reasons less than 12 months ago, a remarkable miss in a pre-season friendly with Ajax going viral and earning the Dutch U21 international a very public rebuke from coach Julian Nagelsmann.
Fortunately, the 20-year-old has put those profligate days behind him since joining Anderlecht on loan last year.
With 17 goals and ten assists in all competitions under former Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany, Zirkzee’s stellar form has attracted the interest of a West Ham side who have spent the best part of 15 months scouring the market for a new number nine (Jeunes Footeaux).
But Zirkzee, a one-time Everton target who came close to joining the Toffees on two separate occasions, is in no rush to leave an Anderlecht side offering him the kind of first-team football he would not be guaranteed at the London Stadium.
Or at Bayern, for that matter.
Can West Ham lure Joshua Zirkzee to England?
“Joshua feels at home at Anderlecht,” says the former Feyenoord starlet’s agent.
“As a professional, he plays there weekly for the first time and is working on (improving) his statistics. He also clicked with the coach from day one.
“This loan has clearly been the best possible step for Joshua. He could therefore also be sure of his place at Anderlecht next season and could perhaps play European football.
“A nice package for his further development.”
Zirkzee, once described as a ‘crazy’ talent by Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, has just one year left on his contract at the Allianz Arena.
It seems unlikely that Bayern will stand in his way should they receive an acceptable bid for a man who scored a couple of key goals en route to the Bundesliga title in 2019/20.
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“I don’t think it makes much sense to go back to Bayern after a season in which I’ve played a lot,” Zirkzee said last month. “I just want to play.”
West Ham have also been linked with the likes of Alberth Elis, Sasa Kalajdzic and Taiwo Awoniyi, though the Darwin Nunez ship appears to have sailed at the London Stadium.
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