Joshua Zirkzee could finally end up at Everton after the £14 million-rated Bayern Munich youngster suffered relegation from Serie A with Parma, as reported by Tuttomercatoweb.
If Parma thought the high-profile arrival of two centre-forwards during the January transfer window would be enough to keep the wolf from the door, they were very much mistaken.
The 1999 UEFA Cup winners not only snapped up former Italy international Graziano Pelle, they also fought off competition from Everton for one of the most exciting striking prospects on the continent.
Looking back now, Parma could be forgiven for wishing they’d never bothered.
Zirkzee has been restricted to four substitute appearances in Parma colours because of injury and was nowhere to be seen as the sleeping giants of Italian football were relegated following a 1-0 defeat to Torino last weekend.
It almost goes without saying, at this stage, that Parma won’t be triggering the £14 million option-to-buy clause in Zirkzee’s contract.
But, according to TMW, some of the biggest clubs in Europe haven’t been put off by the Dutchman’s struggles at the Stadio Ennio Tardini.
Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, AC Milan and Rome are all interested, as is an Everton side that failed to lure Zirkzee to Goodison Park four months ago.
The Toffees even lodged a bid of £9 million, according to Sky, before missing out on a player who has been labelled “crazy” and “deadly” by Bayern Munich teammates Manuel Neuer and Joshua Kimmich.
An injury-hit spell at Parma clearly hasn’t affected Zirkzee’s reputation – and nor should it.
As recently as a year ago, the 19-year-old was the toast of the Allianz Arena, scoring vital goals as Bayern stormed to another Bundesliga title.
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