Joshua Zirkzee played just 413 minutes of first team football for Bayern Munich, but often found himself playing second fiddle to Robert Lewandowski. Speaking exclusively to Gazzetta dello Sport, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, former Bayern CEO, commented on whether the Dutchman would return to the Allianz Arena.
“That’s entirely up to Max Eberl,” said Rummenigge, who “doesn’t want to interfere” with the work of Bayern Munich’s new sporting director, who started his new role on March 1.
Regardless of whether or not Zirkzee returns to Bayern Munich, he will likely be included in any recruitment discussions the club has. According to Kicker, Bayern retain a reported €40m buyback clause in Zirkzee, who has 17 goal contributions (11 goals and six assists) in 29 games across all competitions for Thiago Motta’s Bologna this season.
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“I’m happy for him that he’s doing well, he deserves it,” added Rummenigge. “I’ve always seen him play well for us. His bad luck was that he had someone like Lewandowski in front of him.”
Competition for Joshua Zirkzee is high
But should Bayern Munich wish to re-sign Zirkee, they’ll no doubt face competition from some of Europe’s biggest clubs. In January, talks between Manchester United and Bologna took place with Erik ten Hag a big fan of the 22-year-old forward.
Ten Hag has identified Zirkzee as a transfer target for the summer and to provide competition for Rasmus Højlund. Bayern Munich are also monitoring Zirkzee’s situation after allowing the player to leave on a permanent basis in 2022. The Dutchman has a contract with Bologna until 2026 although the player has a reported €40m exit clause.
