Joshua Zirkzee reveals his three football idols including Premier League hero as Man Utd transfer nears

Joshua Zirkzee has revealed his three football idols as his expected move to Manchester United edges closer.

The striker, who is representing the Netherlands at Euro 2024, scored 11 goals in 33 Serie A appearances last season to help current club Bologna to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in their history.

Zirkzee began his senior career at Bayern Munich, joining them from Feyenoord in 2017 when he was 16 years old.

But he failed to break into Bayern's first team on a regular basis, and it took a loan spell at Anderlecht - where he scored 16 league goals and provided eight assists - during the 2021/22 campaign to get his career up and running.

He joined Bologna permanently the following summer, and has taken his game to new heights under the tutelage of his now former manager Thiago Motta.

According to The Athletic, United are exploring a deal to sign Zirkzee, who has a £40 million release clause, as manager Erik ten Hag looks to add competition for Rasmus Hojlund in the striker department.

Zirkzee has already named three strikers as his footballing idols - and one player will be very familiar to fans of a certain Premier League club.

Speaking to Dutch outlet Elf Voetbal in 2022, he said: "When I first saw Graziano Pelle walk in [at Feyenoord], I immediately went to him.

"From that moment on, there was open contact between us. At Parma, I got injured, but I trained regularly. I learned to head there, thanks to Graziano. The positioning is even more important with heads than with a low cross - he made that clear to me.

"I also learned a lot from him off the field. With Graziano, I talked a lot about life in Italy. He helped me a lot with that during that period.

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"Unfortunately, I was only at Parma for a short time. It felt like a family there, and Pelle like my big brother."

He continued: "If you ask me, Robert Lewandowski is the ultimate example of the complete striker.

"You also see that in competitions. For him it does not matter whether it has to be with left, right or the head - that ball goes into the goal ... Lewandowski made me realise that I can still make steps in this direction."

Zirkzee also worked with Miroslav Klose when he coached at Bayern Munich, and said of Germany's all-time record goalscorer: "That he was a killer in his time as a striker quickly became clear. He's a bit older, but you can't tell. He still has the same intensity as before.

"For me, that was exactly what I needed in my development, a real finisher."

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