Juventus director Cristiano Giuntoli has responded to rumours that his side could target Manchester United striker Joshua Zirkzee during the January transfer window.

The Dutchman excelled under current Bianconeri boss Thiago Motta during their time together at Bologna in the 2023-24 season, helping the Rossoblu earn a shock qualification for the Champions League.

Zirkzee's exploits at Dall'Ara earned him a £35.4m transfer to Old Trafford in the summer, and his Man United stint began in perfect fashion, scoring the only goal of the game in their opening Premier League win over Fulham in August.

However, the 23-year-old has failed to kick on since and boasts a paltry three goals and two assists from 22 games in all competitions this season, making just five starts in the top flight.

Zirkzee hinted at a Ruben Amorim revival when he struck twice in a 4-0 thrashing of Everton on December 1, but he has now reverted to his previous ways and is behind Rasmus Hojlund in the strikers' pecking order.

Juventus director plays down Zirkzee rumours

There have been suggestions that Zirkzee could instead function as one of the two number 10s in Amorim's 3-4-3 setup, but Bruno Fernandes, Mason Mount, Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford are all competing for those positions.

Despite being under contract at Old Trafford until 2029 with the option of a further year, a return to Italy is already being strongly mooted for Zirkzee, who has been tipped to reunite with former Bologna boss Motta in Turin.

The Old Lady are facing continued uncertainty over the future of current attacking talisman Dusan Vlahovic, whom Arsenal are apparently readying a January offer for, and the experienced Arkadiusz Milik is yet to play this season due to injury.

However, Giuntoli recently told Sky Italia that Juventus are banking on Milik to hit the ground running when he returns from going under the knife, and Zirkzee - while being "very talented" - is not in their thinking for 2025.

"We are waiting for Arek Milik. Zirkzee is very talented, but he is part of another team and I cannot say more than that," Giuntoli said. "We are thinking of something very different. Milik is having his recovery process after surgery, we are happy and think he could be back within 15-20 days."

What other exit routes does Zirkzee have?

A second link-up with Motta at Juventus may be out of the question for Zirkzee, but there is still understood to be one avenue open to the 23-year-old if he wants to try his hand at Serie A football again.

Despite welcoming Romelu Lukaku to the club in the summer, Napoli boss Antonio Conte has apparently expressed an interest in working with Zirkzee, and the two clubs share good relations thanks to the Scott McTominay transfer in the last window.

Alternatively, Aston Villa have been tipped to make a surprise move for Zirkzee if he wants to prove himself elsewhere in the Premier League, where he has averaged one goal every 195.6 minutes in the 2024-25 season.

Zirkzee is expected to be named on the bench when the Red Devils take on Manchester City in Sunday's tantalising Manchester derby.