Juventus Targets Zirkzee and Kolo Muani for Dynamic Attack

Joshua Zirkzee has given the green light to Juventus – and the club are wasting no time trying to bring him to Turin.

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Manchester United forward has provided initial approval for a summer move, with Juventus now locked in intensive talks with his agent, Kia Joorabchian, over a loan deal. The negotiations are described as advanced and energetic rather than exploratory. Juve know what they want and who they’re dealing with.

This is not a sudden whim. New football director Ricky Massara has admired Zirkzee for some time, having already tried to sign him for Roma in the winter window. That attempt failed, but the idea never left his desk. Now, in Turin, with greater urgency and a different project, Massara is pushing to finally land his man.

A modern forward for Spalletti

The numbers from Zirkzee’s last Serie A campaign still resonate in Italy: 12 goals and seven assists for Bologna in 2023-24. That season established him as one of the most intriguing modern forwards in Europe – tall, elegant, technically polished, comfortable linking play and drifting between the lines rather than simply finishing moves.

His Premier League chapter has been far less flattering. Since moving to England, he has started just 19 league games in two seasons, 68 appearances in total, and has struggled to nail down a regular role. The talent never disappeared, but the rhythm did.

Juventus believe they can restore that rhythm. Luciano Spalletti, who values forwards that can combine, press, and knit attacks together, sees Zirkzee as a natural fit for his tactical structure. A forward who can drop off, create angles, and still threaten goal suits the more fluid, possession-heavy game he wants to impose.

Kolo Muani the other pillar

Zirkzee is only half of the plan. At the same time, the Juventus hierarchy are prioritising a move for Paris Saint-Germain striker Kolo Muani, with a €40 million deal on the table according to Gazzetta.

CEO Giovanni Carnevali is working to close that agreement, convinced that Kolo Muani’s pace and direct running can give the team an entirely different dimension. Where Zirkzee offers subtlety and link-up play, Kolo Muani brings verticality and raw speed. On paper, it is a complementary pairing rather than a clash of profiles.

The pressure to act comes from more than just ambition. An injury to young Italian striker Jeff Ekhator has stripped depth from an already thin frontline, forcing Juventus to accelerate their attacking rebuild. The response from the club has been aggressive: one eye on Zirkzee’s craft, the other on Kolo Muani’s explosiveness.

If both deals fall into place, Juventus believe they will field a far more dynamic and unpredictable attack than in recent seasons.

Time ticking before Frosinone

Spalletti now waits for clarity. The coach wants these moves completed quickly, not as late-window opportunities. With pre-season already shaping the team’s patterns and pressing structures, he needs his new forwards on the training pitch, not just on the negotiation table.

The calendar offers little patience. Juventus open their Serie A campaign away to newly-promoted Frosinone on August 23, a fixture that looks gentle on paper but arrives in a period when teams often struggle for cohesion.

By then, the question will be simple: will Spalletti walk into that first game with a retooled attack built around Zirkzee and Kolo Muani, or will Juventus again be chasing their own plans as the season starts to run away from them?