Fabrizio Romano has responded to recent transfer rumours involving Arsenal interest in Bologna forward Joshua Zirkzee, formerly of Bayern Munich.
Romano, speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for his Daily Briefing column, seemed to play down links between Arsenal and Zirkzee, saying there’s no update on his situation for now as he won’t be leaving Bologna this January.
The journalist also discussed Bayern’s buy-back clause for Zirkzee, which is something that will supposedly be looked into in the summer, rather than now, so it may be some time before we have a clear idea of what the future holds for the talented young Dutchman.
Arsenal could do with strengthening up front in the near future, and Zirkzee could be an option worth looking at, with the 22-year-old showing real promise with eight goals in 16 games in all competitions so far this season.
One imagines Zirkzee could score at an even more prolific rate with better players around him, as he’d have at the Emirates Stadium, but Bayern might also decide they want to bring him back to the Allianz Arena as a long-term option after seeing his improvement during his time in Serie A.
“One name linked with Arsenal is Joshua Zirkzee, but I don’t have any update as Bologna are very clear: Joshua will not leave in January, they guarantee,” Romano said.
“His former club Bayern Munich will not decide on the buy-back clause now, that’s all a discussion for June, not this January.”