Man United hatch genius FFP plan to complete first transfer as three Erik ten Hag deals boosted

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Manchester United will be paying more than Joshua Zirkzee's £34million release clause as they have reached an agreement to sign the Bologna striker this summer.

It comes with the player set to fly into England ahead of a medical on Friday. Zirkzee, who has been chased by top clubs across Europe including Arsenal and Bayern Munich earlier in the window but more recently AC Milan, will instead cost almost £36million, MEN Sport understands.

A small difference, it may seem, but still significant in more ways than one for United. After nearly an entire month of the 2024 summer window, the progress toward reaching this deal comes at an important time for Erik ten Hag heading into pre-season.

Perhaps more importantly though, the additional days taken to negotiate a deal with Bologna, who are also in talks with Arsenal to sell star defender Riccardo Calafiori for big money, has gained United favourable payment terms. READ MORE: Man United learn brutal Leny Yoro transfer lesson as £45m reality clear for Sir Jim Ratcliffe READ MORE: Man United have Leny Yoro transfer secret weapon over Real Madrid to secure £65m advantage Despite the release clause giving United a certain price at the start of the window, they have instead chosen to pay Bologna over the odds (albeit by not much) in order to split the payment into instalments.