Joshua Zirkzee chose Parma over Everton due to the prospective game time on offer at the Serie A strugglers, as reported by Voetbal International.
After playing just 91 minutes of Bundesliga football in the first half of the season at Bayern Munich, you can understand why the teenage striker was concerned about jumping from one substitutes’ bench to another.
Everton held talks about a potential loan-to-buy deal for Zirkzee in mid-January, according to the Mail.
But with the irrepressible Dominic Calvert-Lewin establishing himself as pretty much the first name on Carlo Ancelotti’s team-sheet, it always felt that Zirkzee was at risk of becoming the new Moise Kean at Goodison Park; a hugely talented young striker incapable of forcing his way into the team.
VI claim that the former Feyenoord starlet jumped at the chance to join Parma instead, eventually completing a £14 million loan-to-buy deal on deadline day.
Parma have won just two of their 20 Serie A matches so far.
And Zirkzee, once described as ‘deadly’ by former Bayern teammate Joshua Kimmich, should have few problems forcing his way into one of Italy’s most profligate frontlines.
“He is an interesting prospect. He has also shown that he has outstanding scoring skills,” Massimo Morales, a coach who has worked in Italy and Germany, told TMW.
“I think he may look like a young (Edin) Dzeko; he reminds me of that kind of player, a bit of an attacking playmaker.”
If Zirkzee can emulate the impact of Roma’s talismanic captain in Serie A, Parma may just be playing first-team football again in 2021/22.
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