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After some tough negotiations that almost saw the deal fall through, Bayern Munich striker Joshua Zirkzee looks set to sign a six-month loan agreement with Parma.
The deal itself is not exactly what Bayern Munich wanted. Zirkzee will head to Parma for six months and the Italian club will reportedly hold an “option-to-buy” the 19-year-old Dutchman. The Bavarians, however, were more keen for Parma to hold an “obligation-to-buy” the striker.
Sky’s Max Bielefeld broke down the whole saga into a tweet:
Update Zirkzee: He’ll sign the loan contract in Munich tomorrow before flying to Parma in the afternoon. @FCBayern tried to negotiate an obligation to buy until the end, but accepted a 6 months loan plus option in the end. Medical probably on Monday #TransferUpdate @Sky_Marc https://t.co/d650Z0ezAC
— Max Bielefeld (@Sky_MaxB) January 30, 2021
Sport Bild chief reporter Tobi Altschaffl also confirmed the deal and indicated that Zirkzee is happy to be leaving Bayern Munich, where he did not see much of an opportunity to play:
Trotz der Gerüchte in Italien um Joshua Zirkzee und einen Wechsel zu Parma geht man beim FC Bayern intern aktuell von einem Verbleib des Stürmers aus. Zirkzee selbst weiß noch nicht, wie seine Zukunft aussehen wird.
— Tobi Altschäffl (@altobelli13) January 30, 2021
Now confirmed by Joshua Zirkzee: after tough negotiations with Parma, the striker will be loaned out, but there is no obligation to buy. Zirkzee is happy, he saw no more chance of playing at Bayern.#fcbayern
Finally, Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano squeeze out even more of the finer details, including Bayern Munich reportedly set to receive 7.5% of any future sale of Zirkzee:
Joshua Zirkzee is joining Parma from Bayern Münich, confirmed. Total agreement reached on loan with buy option around €15m.#Bayern will also have potential 7,5% of future sale from Parma. Personal terms agreed too. Last details... then here we go soon @Kyle_J_Krause. #parma https://t.co/JKJkNbNFhP
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 30, 2021
Zirkzee, who failed to impress this season, had a short explosion of opportunistic play in the 2019/2020 campaign, but has been wildly inconsistent ever since. A move seems to be the best thing for all parties involved. At one point both Everton and Juventus were linked to Zirkzee, but the Dutchman likely has a better chance to play at Parma, which is currently 19th in the Serie A table.
As Bielefeld stated, a medical exam is expected to happen on Monday.