It has been a tumultuous time in the north-west for Joshua Zirkzee since his £42.5 million move from Italian side Bologna two years ago. He has never been able to really hit the ground running and has always seemed to play second fiddle behind either Rasmus Hojlund or, currently, Benjamin Sesko.

The main problem for Zirkzee in his underwhelming Manchester United career is ultimately his lack of goals; the Dutch international has only scored five Premier League goals over the last two seasons.

His strike partner, Sesko, who hit a nice run of form at the back end of last season under current manager Michael Carrick, has made things even tougher for Zirkzee to try and break into the United squad, with the returning Marcus Rashford also another attacking option for Carrick.

According to TalkJuve, Zirkzee has admirers in Italy, with Juventus trying to pursue him as they have been interested in the forward throughout the summer, but fellow Italian side Napoli are also interested in the Dutchman.

One of the main reasons that Zirkzee is of interest to the pair of Serie A clubs is his proven record in the division, which saw him score eleven goals in his final year at Bologna before his move to the Premier League.

Zirkzee would not be the only ex-United player at Napoli, with Scott McTominay and Hojlund being at the club.

There is not a direct fee mentioned, but it would be thought that United will try to recoup their losses as much as they can, but will understand that his performances for the Red Devils could make it hard to drive his price up. 

It is a tricky question, but there is no doubt for most United fans that if they want to kick on from last season, they may need to move on from players such as Zirkzee, as questions may arise if he is good enough.

If Manchester United can get a good fee for the Bayern Munich academy graduate, it could be a good time to sell, especially with the return of Rashford, who could fill in that role of playing as a second-choice striker alongside playing out wide when required.

It would be very surprising if United spent money on another striker, especially after the news about Carlos Baleba dropped, so United may want to keep Zirkzee for squad depth this season.