Manchester United Target Matanovic as Zirkzee Exit Looms

Manchester United’s summer was supposed to be about fixing the midfield. They’ve done that. Now, with the window ticking down, the story has shifted sharply towards a No 9 and a left-back – and the club suddenly finds itself in the middle of a late-market scrap.

Striker dominoes: Zirkzee, Matanovic and a three-way fight

United’s attacking plan hinges on one man: Joshua Zirkzee. If he stays, INEOS can sit tight. If he goes, they move.

Right now, the exit door is wide open.

Moise Kean is set to join Como, clearing the way for Fiorentina to accelerate talks with United over Zirkzee. Fabrizio Romano reports that the Serie A club are now in advanced negotiations to bring the Netherlands international to Florence before the deadline. For United, that would leave a hole at centre-forward they cannot afford to ignore.

Ben Jacobs has already underlined the mood inside Old Trafford. Speaking to Betway Insider, he explained that while left-back remains the priority, United are “alert” to the need for a new No 9 if Zirkzee departs – and that such a move would become “more pressing in the final hours or days of the window”.

Enter Igor Matanovic.

The Freiburg striker, fresh from an 11-goal Bundesliga campaign, has drawn serious attention. Fiorentina like him. Tottenham like him. Now United are in the mix as well. According to Gazzetta dello Sport, via Sport Witness, Fiorentina view a deal for Matanovic as “difficult but not impossible”, with Premier League interest complicating their pursuit.

In Croatia, Matanovic is already being spoken of as the heir to Mario Mandzukic – a hard-running, penalty-box presence with the frame and aggression to lead the line. For United, he represents exactly the kind of profile they would need if Zirkzee is sold: young, upward curve, already delivering in a major league.

The market is moving around him. Omar Marmoush is heading towards Tottenham, Fiorentina are pushing for Zirkzee, and that combination could clear a cleaner path for United to go hard for Matanovic if they choose to pull the trigger.

The caveat is clear, though: if United cannot bring in a replacement, they retain the option not to sanction Zirkzee’s departure at all. INEOS will not knowingly walk into the season a striker light.

Midfield done, attention turns wide

While the forward situation simmers, the bulk of United’s planned rebuild has already landed.

Midfield, identified early as the key area to refresh, has been heavily reinforced. Carlos Baleba arrived from Brighton, Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa, and Andrey Santos from Chelsea, giving the squad a new blend of energy, passing range and depth in the centre of the pitch.

Karl Darlow has joined on a free to provide experienced back-up in goal, while Tottenham youngster Tynan Thompson came in for around £8m, a nod to longer-term planning.

There has been talk around Old Trafford of possibly adding a left-winger as well as a striker and left-back, but the club’s internal hierarchy and external briefings are aligned: left-back is the most realistic and most urgent position to address before the window shuts.

Left-back: Balde, loans and the Lewis Hall plan

This is where United’s strategy becomes more nuanced.

Jacobs has outlined a clear tension in the club’s thinking. On one side, there is the immediate need: a left-back who can help now. On the other, there is the longer-term target: Lewis Hall.

Alejandro Balde has been offered around, with Barcelona understood to be willing to sanction an exit at around €45 million. On pure talent, that fee would usually tempt a club like United. But the structure is the issue.

United, according to Jacobs, would prefer a loan with an option to buy rather than committing to an outright purchase this summer. That flexibility is crucial if they want the freedom in 2027 to make what he describes as a full “assault” on Hall, who is viewed inside the club as the ideal long-term solution on the left side of defence.

Hall, though, is not thought to be available this late in the window. That leaves United with a decision that cuts to the heart of their planning: do they invest now in a permanent left-back, potentially closing the door on Hall, or do they bring in a stopgap and wait for their top target?

Balde remains one to watch, but nothing has advanced. Other names have been floated to United, including Jorge Salinas and David Raum, as alternative options in that position. For now, they sit on the list rather than at the front of it.

A window that could flip in days

United’s summer has, on paper, already been productive. Midfield refreshed, depth added in goal, a young prospect brought in from Spurs. Yet the shape of the season could still be heavily influenced by what happens in the final days of the window.

If Fiorentina close a deal for Zirkzee, United will have to decide whether to fight Tottenham and the Italians for Matanovic or pivot to another striker target entirely. If they cannot secure a No 9 they trust, they may simply refuse to sell.

At left-back, the club must choose between short-term cover and long-term vision, with Balde, Raum, Salinas and the distant figure of Hall all part of the equation.

The pieces are on the table. How United play them now will say plenty about the ruthlessness – and patience – of the INEOS era.