Manchester United’s summer was supposed to be about fixing the midfield. That box is ticked. Now, with the window ticking towards its close and Joshua Zirkzee’s future suddenly uncertain, the club find themselves dragged into a late scramble for a No 9 – and a highly rated one at that.
The name on the table: Igor Matanovic.
The Freiburg striker, fresh off an 11-goal Bundesliga campaign, is attracting serious attention across Europe. Manchester United, Tottenham and Fiorentina are all in the race, with the Italian side juggling their pursuit of both Zirkzee and Matanovic as they reshape their attack.
In Croatia, Matanovic is already being talked about as the “heir to Mario Mandzukic” – a heavyweight comparison that explains why three clubs with Champions League ambitions are circling the 21-year-old.
United’s transfer plan gets complicated
INEOS went into this window with a clear blueprint. Midfield first. A spine to build around.
Carlos Baleba arrived from Brighton, Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa, Andrey Santos from Chelsea. Three midfielders, three different profiles, one message: United wanted control back in the centre of the pitch.
They also moved quietly to secure depth in goal, snapping up Karl Darlow on a free transfer, and spent around £8m to prise young defender Tynan Thompson from Tottenham. Methodical, targeted business.
The expectation was that any late moves would focus on a left-back, maybe a left-winger. A striker was not supposed to be a pressing concern.
Then Zirkzee’s situation changed.
Zirkzee in demand, striker door creaks open
Interest in Zirkzee has grown as the window has worn on, with Premier League and Serie A clubs sounding out a deal. According to Ben Jacobs, United’s stance is straightforward: if Zirkzee goes, the hunt for a new No 9 becomes urgent. If they cannot bring in a replacement, they will simply refuse to sell.
“They’ll be alert also to a No. 9, and if Joshua Zirkzee goes, that also becomes more pressing in the final hours or days of the window,” Jacobs told Betway Insider, underlining the conditional nature of any outgoing.
Fiorentina, who are set to watch Como sign Moise Kean before the deadline, have pushed themselves into the centre of this story. Fabrizio Romano reports they are in advanced talks with United over a deal for Zirkzee, a move that would leave a sizeable hole at Old Trafford’s top end of the pitch.
That is where Matanovic comes in.
Matanovic race heats up
Thursday’s print edition of Gazzetta dello Sport, relayed by Sport Witness, describes Fiorentina’s pursuit of Matanovic as “difficult but not impossible”. The difficulty? Competition.
Tottenham and Manchester United have both joined the chase, complicating the Italian club’s hopes of landing the Freiburg forward. Matanovic’s 11 Bundesliga goals last season have not gone unnoticed, and his reputation back home as Mandzukic’s natural successor only sharpens the intrigue.
The dominoes are lined up. Omar Marmoush is moving towards Tottenham. Fiorentina are getting serious for Zirkzee. If those two deals fall into place, United could find a clear path opening towards Matanovic – provided they decide to walk down it.
For INEOS, the choice is stark: hold on to Zirkzee and keep continuity, or cash in and pivot aggressively to a younger, rising striker with a different profile and a different ceiling.
Left-back remains the live priority
While the striker saga gathers noise, the left side of United’s defence remains the most active front in their window.
“A left-back seems to be the priority,” Jacobs stressed, before outlining a delicate balancing act. Alejandro Balde has been offered around, with Barcelona understood to be willing to sanction an exit at around €45m. On paper, that is a statement signing. In practice, United are wary of locking themselves in.
The club are thought to prefer a loan solution with an option to buy, rather than committing to an outright purchase now. The reason sits a little further down the line: Lewis Hall.
Hall is viewed internally as the long-term prize at left-back, but he is not thought to be available this late in the window. That leaves United weighing up whether to bring in a stopgap now and go hard for Hall in 2027, or to commit big money immediately on a player like Balde and potentially complicate that future move.
“Manchester United may be more inclined, though, to do a loan, and part of that is to give themselves freedom in 2027 if they want to make an assault on their top target, Lewis Hall,” Jacobs explained.
Balde is one possibility. He is not the only one. Jorge Salinas and David Raum have both been offered as alternatives, but, as things stand, nothing has advanced significantly on any front.
A window on a knife-edge
So United enter the final days of the window with a familiar tension. Plans carefully drawn up, then tested by opportunity and threat.
Midfield is rebuilt. The goalkeeper room is reinforced. A young defender has been added. The left-back search is live, but unresolved. And hovering above it all is the question of Zirkzee: stay and steady the project, or go and trigger a chain reaction that could bring Igor Matanovic to Old Trafford.
The clock is ticking. Which way do United jump?
