According to Corriere dello Sport (via SportWitness), Arsenal are prepared to pay a high commission fee to sign Bologna centre-forward Joshua Zirkzee this summer.
The London heavyweights have been fancied to land a new centre-forward and they have been linked with plenty of names. Zirkzee is one of those and Corriere dello Sport claim that Arsenal have the upper hand in the pursuit.
AC Milan are also interested in the former Bayern man, but they could find it difficult to recruit him due to the hefty commission required for agent Kia Joorabchian to secure an agreement.
Zirkzee has a release clause of £34 million in his current deal at the Serie A outfit. Joorabchian plans to demand £9m-£13m which Arsenal would have no problem in paying to sign the striker.
Talented striker
The Dutchman had a good 2023/24 campaign with 12 goals and 7 assists to his name. He was a key catalyst behind Bologna’s fantastic league season which saw them qualify for the Champions League.
Bologna would ideally prefer to keep him for another year or so, but they could be helpless, considering there are several European clubs including Juventus, who are interested in triggering his release clause.
Arsenal could have the advantage over the Serie A giants due to their better financial power. The Gunners could be willing to pay a higher agent fee to put themselves in pole position to sign the 22-year-old.
Zirkzee has similar traits as Kai Havertz in the final 3rd. He has an aerial presence and can hold-up play effectively. The young striker also possesses good positional sense and can dribble past opponents with pace.
As per Understat, Zirkzee scored 12 league goals last season with an xG of 9.11. With better creative players around him at Arsenal, he could develop into a potent goalscorer for the London club in the long run.
If Arsenal were to sign him, there could be at least 1 departure from the frontline. Eddie Nketiah could be the player to make way, having barely got off the bench during the 2nd half of the 2023/24 season.
