Man Utd fans in total disbelief after seeing what Everton offered for Joshua Zirkzee
Manchester United fans have been left in disbelief after seeing the offer the club turned down for Joshua Zirkzee.
The Dutchman looked to find himself surplus to requirements at Old Trafford and was heavily linked with a move away.
However, Zirkzee still remains on the books of the 13-time Premier League champions despite a dramatic end to deadline which saw Everton make an approach over his services.
Zirkzee, who joined from Bologna in a £36.5 million move in 2024, was subject of the late offer from the Toffees after their mooted deal for AS Monaco and United States striker Folarin Balogun fell through.
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Balogun was at Everton's training ground but issues in his medical prompted the Merseyside outfit to renegotiate the deal.
In the meantime, they explored the possibility of signing Zirkzee on loan from United.
David Ornstein of The Athletic reported that the former Bayern Munich man was keen on the move.
According to Lyall Thomas, senior football news editor at Sky Sports, Everton offered to pay a £10 million loan fee for Zirkzee and were prepared to cover his wages in full.
However, United turned down the offer and Zirkzee will remain at the Red Devils until at least January despite the likes of Benjamin Sesko, Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and Marcus Rashford being ahead of him in the pecking order.
The decision to do so baffled plenty of United fans, with one on X writing: "Dumb if true. He won't get more than 10 games."
A second said: "The fact Everton were desperate enough to offer a transfer fee to loan a player and we still rejected it???"
A third added: "These guys are idiots. 10m for a loan and you said no."
Everton suffer disaster end to transfer window as three striker moves fail
Everton were poised to pay around £40 million for Balogun before renegotiating with a lower fixed fee and higher bonuses.
Those terms were accepted by Monaco and a deal sheet was submitted to the Premier League - meaning the club could work on the deal beyond the 11pm deadline.
However, it has been reported that Balogun simply had a change of heart and left the club's training ground without signing on the dotted line.
The rejection is a disaster for Everton, who allowed Beto to return to Italy with a £17 million switch to Fiorentina.
David Moyes now has just one senior striker to call upon in Thierno Barry after approaches for Zirkzee and Aston Villa striker Tammy Abraham proved unsuccessful.
Jack Grealish did return on a loan deal from Manchester City, who did business with Everton by bringing in Iliman Ndiaye for a fee of £65 million.
They did also sign Ainsley Maitland-Niles from Lyon for a fee of £4 million after allowing Nathan Paterson to join Serie A side Torino.
Everton's squad looks incredibly thin and the club also offloaded Tim Iroegbunam to newly-promoted Hull City for a fee of £15 million.
Fans voiced their anger when it appeared as though 19-year-old prospect Harrison Armstrong was being sold to Nottingham Forest, with the club eventually performing a u-turn.
Everton return to action with a game against United at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Sunday.
Josh Lawless