Joshua Zirkzee could put Manchester United on notice after Erik ten Hag decision

Manchester United target Joshua Zirkzee has been called up to the senior Netherlands squad ahead of Euro 2024 amid speculation surrounding his club future.

The Bologna forward has emerged as a summer transfer option for Erik ten Hag as he looks to add another attacker to this squad this summer. It was reported earlier this week that United have named Zirkzee as part of a three-man striker shortlist, with Lille's Jonathan David and Brentford's Ivan Toney the other two after Benjamin Sesko signed a five-year contract to commit his future to RB Leipzig.

Over the past season, Zirkzee has been impressive, scoring 12 goals in 37 appearances and helping Bologna qualify for the Champions League. His performances have not gone unnoticed, with Arsenal, United and AC Milan among his potential suitors. Now, Ronald Koeman has taken special attention to Zirkzee after calling the ex-Bayern Munich man up to the Dutch squad for the Euros in Germany.

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Despite his success at club level, Zirkzee is yet to be capped at senior international level. His call-up to the first-team camp at Euro 2024 represents a massive opportunity to make his mark on the biggest stage, and potentially raise his valuation for interested parties, such as United. Although Zirkzee has a €40million (£34m) release clause in his contract, his price could rise beyond that if more than one club is willing to trigger it.

As well as his price possibly increasing if he performs well at the Euros, more teams could register an interest to sign him. That may cause a domino effect with United wanting to sign him more and putting them higher up in their priority list, unless they haven't already signed a centre forward. Meanwhile, it could work the other way too if Zirkzee is handed a fair shot and doesn't take his chance.

With Zirkzee now at Euro 2024, if United did want to construct a potential deal in the near future, him being at the tournament could make that process a whole lot more difficult. They might then have to wait until after depending on how far Netherlands go, with the final set to take place on Sunday, June 14.

After the departure of Anthony Martial, Rasmus Hojlund is the only senior centre forward at the club and United are keen to add at least one striker to their squad in the summer transfer window. The Red Devils scored just 57 goals in the Premier League during the 2023/24 season - the joint-lowest out of anyone in the top-half.

Netherlands face Poland, France and Austria in Group D at Euro 2024 - a set of fixtures which is amongst the most difficult for a team inside the top 10 of the UEFA world rankings. Zirkzee is expected to be behind Wout Weghorst, Donyell Malen, Cody Gakpo and Brian Brobbey in the pecking order.

Speaking about his future last month, Zirkzee told Sky Sports: "After the holidays we'll see what will happen. As far as I know so far I will play the Champions League with Bologna but I can't say anything.

"There's a lot going on, in the meantime we're thinking about finishing the season well and then we'll come back after the holidays and see what happens."