Everton look to have landed a surefire hit in Feyenoord’s teenage striker Joshua Zirkzee
With the Toffees set to pip Arsenal to hotshot Zirkee, Football Whispers dissects the kid destined one day to set the Premier League alight
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FOR the second time this summer Everton look set to beat Arsenal to the signing of an exciting young striker.
The Toffees pipped the Gunners to a deal for Nigerian forward Henry Onyekuru, who was set for a switch to the Emirates only to join the Merseysiders instead.
Now Ronald Koeman’s men are set to clinch a deal for 16-year-old Feyenoord hotshot Joshua Zirkzee.
The teenager netted a whopping 33 goals for Feyenoord’s youth sides sides last season and has attracted interested from PSV Eindhoven, Ajax, Manchester United and Everton too.
Our friends at have profiled Zirkzee ahead of his potential Premier League switch.
Who is Joshua Zirkzee and where does he come from?
Zirkzee isn’t the first Dutch striker Arsenal and Manchester United have fought bitterly over. Robin van Persie started that trend with his 2012 switch to from the Emirates Stadium to Old Trafford.
However, Feyenoord hitman Zirkzee,16, is displaying all the qualities to suggest he, too, will be a Premier League hit if and when he moves to England.
Having started out with ADO Den Haag’s youth academy he left for Feyenoord last summer. The move was more than vindicated as Zirkzee rattled in 33 goals in just 27 games for the Rotterdam outfit.
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He has also made a big impression on the international scene, scoring once in four outings for the Netherlands’ Under-16 side.
However, the highlight of Zirkzee’s sensational season was his solitary appearance for Feyenoord’s Under-19s.
Zirkzee made an immediate impression at a higher age group, scoring on his only outing against PSV Eindhoven.
That kind of form does not remain under the radar for long and Europa League runners-up Ajax joined PSV in the race to secure the teenage prodigy.
Feyenoord did their best to persuade the forward to remain at De Kuip with the offer to promote him to the Under-19 side.
But Zirkzee looks set to reject that opportunity and the advances of Holland’s two biggest clubs in favour of moving to the Premier League this summer instead.
How much will he cost?
It’s hard to put a value on a player who is yet to make his senior debut.
However, Zirkzee’s impressive goal ratio means Feyenoord should be able to demand a fee of at least £5million.
What will also help the Eredivisie winners is the fact there is interest of several clubs. They could even drum up a bidding war to ramp up the price.
Where is his most likely destination this summer?
Unsurprisingly, there is interest in Zirkzee from the Premier League as well as the Eredivisie with Manchester United, Arsenal and Everton rivalling Ajax for the teenage prospect.
The lure of moving to England is likely to prove too much for the Feyenoord forward to ignore, even if moving to Ajax would probably mean more minutes in the upcoming season.
United have a record of bringing Dutch prospects to England in recent times with Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Tahith Chong and, most recently, Millen Baars all moving from the Netherlands to the red side of Manchester.
However, reports suggest Everton are the club most likely to tie up a deal for the forward who will go into the club’s Under-18s if he joins.
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