Manchester United Target Igor Matanovic as Zirkzee Exit Looms
Manchester United went into this window with a clear script: fix the midfield, tidy up the squad, and leave the big attacking decisions for another day. The market has refused to play along.
With Joshua Zirkzee’s future suddenly in play and Fiorentina circling, United now find themselves dragged into a three-way battle for one of the Bundesliga’s most intriguing No 9s: Freiburg striker Igor Matanovic.
From midfield rebuild to striker dilemma
INEOS set the tone early. Midfield was the priority, and United moved with rare clarity. Carlos Baleba arrived from Brighton, Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa, Andrey Santos from Chelsea. Three different profiles, one message: the engine room had to change.
Depth behind the sticks was addressed as well, with Karl Darlow joining on a free. Tottenham youngster Tynan Thompson followed in a deal worth around £8m, another nod to succession planning rather than headline-chasing.
The plan was simple from there. If anything else happened, it would be opportunistic: a left-back if the right name emerged, maybe a left-winger, maybe a striker. Left-back, by all accounts, remained the likeliest area for reinforcement.
Then Zirkzee’s situation shifted.
Zirkzee on the move, Fiorentina pounce
Interest in Zirkzee has been simmering all summer, but the temperature has risen in the final stretch of the window. Premier League and Serie A clubs are in the mix, and Fiorentina have now stepped to the front of the queue.
With Como closing in on Moise Kean, the Serie A side have turned to Zirkzee as a major attacking target, with Fabrizio Romano reporting that Fiorentina are in advanced talks to sign the Netherlands international from United.
That possibility has forced Old Trafford to redraw its late-window priorities.
Ben Jacobs has made it clear that INEOS will sanction a move for a new striker if — and only if — Zirkzee leaves. Speaking to Betway Insider, Jacobs described United as “alert” to bringing in a No 9, stressing that the urgency spikes in the final hours or days of the window if Zirkzee goes. If they cannot line up a suitable replacement, they are prepared not to sanction his departure.
The message is blunt: no striker in, no striker out.
Enter Igor Matanovic
This is where Igor Matanovic comes into focus.
The Freiburg forward scored 11 Bundesliga goals last season, a breakout campaign that has pushed him firmly onto the radar of clubs across Europe. In Croatia, he has already been tagged as the “heir to Mario Mandzukic” – a heavy label, but one that hints at his profile: powerful, direct, and with the penalty-box instincts top clubs crave.
Fiorentina have him on their list as well. Thursday’s print edition of Gazzetta dello Sport, relayed by Sport Witness, described a move for Matanovic as “difficult but not impossible” for the Serie A club.
That difficulty is not tactical or financial. It is competitive. Manchester United and Tottenham are now in the race.
Spurs, working on a deal for Omar Marmoush, have been tracking Matanovic as part of their own attacking reshuffle. Yet the dominoes might be falling in United’s favour. With Marmoush heading towards Tottenham and Fiorentina pushing hard for Zirkzee, a clear lane could open for United to move decisively for Matanovic if they choose to cash in on their current No 9.
The stakes are obvious. Lose Zirkzee and miss out on Matanovic, and United walk into the season light at centre-forward. Land the Freiburg striker, and they pivot from reactive to proactive in one bold swing.
Left-back: Balde, loans and the Lewis Hall plan
All of this unfolds while United continue to wrestle with another long-running issue: left-back.
Jacobs has outlined the club’s thinking here as well. Barcelona’s Alejandro Balde has been offered around, with the Catalan club understood to be open to an exit at around €45 million. On paper, it is a clean solution: a high-upside, modern full-back, available now.
United, though, are wary of committing that kind of fee this late in the window. The reason sits a little further down the road: Lewis Hall.
Hall is viewed inside Old Trafford as the ultimate long-term target at left-back. He is not thought to be available this late in the current window, which leaves United with a strategic choice. Do they lock in a permanent solution now with someone like Balde, or bring in a stopgap on loan and keep 2027 clear for a full assault on Hall?
For the moment, the preference leans towards flexibility. If United move for Balde, they would rather structure it as a loan with an option to buy, not an outright purchase. That keeps the door open for Hall and avoids boxing themselves into a long-term commitment they may regret.
Other names have been floated. Jorge Salinas and David Raum have both been offered as alternative options at left-back. As it stands, though, nothing has advanced. The clock is ticking, and United are still weighing whether to act now or wait for the player they truly want.
A window on a knife-edge
So United find themselves in a familiar place: pulled in several directions at once, with little margin for error.
Midfield has been refreshed, the goalkeeper ranks bolstered, and a young defender added. Yet the entire complexion of their summer could still hinge on two positions and a handful of moving parts.
Does Zirkzee go, and if he does, can they get Matanovic through the door before the window slams shut? Do they bite on Balde or another left-back now, or hold their nerve for Lewis Hall down the line?
The answers will not just shape this window. They will define how much freedom United have to build the squad they really want over the next three years — and how sharp they look in both boxes when the season hits its decisive stretch.
