Struggling Man Utd misfit may miss out on January transfer thanks to Xabi Alonso

Joshua ZIrkzee may miss out on a January transfer to Juventus - thanks to Xabi Alonso's decision to reduce Patrick Schick's role at Bayer Leverkusen.

The Italian giants are reviewing their options in the final third and want to add reinforcements to ease the load on Dusan Vlahovic. An injury to Arkadiusz Milik is set to force them into the market with Zirkzee seen as more of a summer target.

In the meantime they are poised to pursue Schick, who has found minutes hard to come by at the German champions. Alonso has preferred to use Victor Boniface at Leverkusen, which has left the Czech man struggling for opportunities.

Juventus have a long-term interest in Schick and are ready to pursue him again, this time on loan, with Manchester United's Dutch forward the man they want in the summer despite his underwhelming stint with the Premier League giants, reports Gazzetta dello Sport.

The Bianconeri are now led by Thiago Motta, who excelled last season with Bologna. The Serie A outfit had Zirkzee leading their line and he enjoyed an impressive season in front of goal which eventually saw the Manchester outfit come calling, signing him in a deal worth £36.5million.

The transfer though was driven by the club's hierarchy, who felt that Zirzkee represented good value for money. Erik ten Hag though didn't want to bring him in and was then fuming when the 23-year-old rocked up at Old Trafford carrying extra weight.

Zirkzee would score the winner for United on his debut as they saw off Fulham on the opening weekend. However he's failed to find the net since then with Ten Hag frustrated by the situation prior to his sacking.

It means the Dutchman hasn't scored in any of his last 14 games for United and it was hoped he could recapture some form while away on international duty, but Dutch boss Ronald Koeman was in no mood to discuss his striker. "My thoughts on Zirkzee’s performance? I am not going to talk about individual player performances," he said.

Talk is already ramping up regarding a move in Manchester for Sporting Lisbon's Viktor Gyokeres, who excelled under Ruben Amorim and remains one of the most in form strikers in Europe. That could then have ramifications for Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund.