Manchester United deal for Joshua Zirkzee could cost more than release clause

Manchester United's prospective deal for Bologna striker Joshua Zirkzee could rise to £46million with agents' fees.

Zirkzee has a release clause of €40m (£33m) but sources in Italy have said United could spend up to £13m in commission to secure a deal.

United want a striker to support Rasmus Hojlund after Anthony Martial was released. Zirkzee, 23, scored 12 goals in 37 games for Bologna as they qualified for the Champions League last season.

Zirkzee is represented by the Sports Invest UK agency that is run by Kia Joorabchian, who was blamed by Sir Alex Ferguson for not making Carlos Tevez's two-year loan a permanent move in 2009.

Former Bayern Munich striker Zirkzee is in the Netherlands squad at the European Championship but he has not played in any of their four matches. The Netherlands take on Turkey in the quarter-finals on Saturday.

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Even though United have installed a new technical director in Jason Wilcox and appointed Dan Ashworth as their inaugural sporting director, they are continuing to target players familiar to manager Erik ten Hag.

United have signed eight players who were born, or played, in the Netherlands and Zirkzee moved to the Bayern Munich academy from Feyenoord in 2018.

Ten Hag is keen to reunite with former Ajax defender Matthijs de Ligt, who Bayern Munich are prepared to sell for £42m. United hosted De Ligt's agent, Rafaela Pimenta, at their Carrington training complex last season.