Prioritizing a move for a new striker and at least one new center-back ahead of the 2017 Premier League season, United decided to retain Erik ten Hag as manager.
Zirkzee and AC Milan had initially come to an agreement, but the transfer was called off when AC Milan refused to give Kia Joorabchian, the player’s agent, an extra €15 million (£12.6 million) in commission.
Due to the delay, United was able to transfer, and Zirkzee has now reached a personal agreement with the Premier League team after having contacted Erik Ten Hag.
United were then weighing up whether to pay Zirkzee’s €40m (£33.7m) release clause in full or, due to their financial restrictions, negotiate a separate a separate deal with Bologna which would have included smaller fee up front with add-ons.
Sky Sports Italy report that United are opting to trigger Zirkzee’s clause and have formally notified Bologna of their decision.
United have also agreed to pay an additional €15m (£12.6m) in commission fees which held up the deal with AC Milan last month.
Bayern Munich will also hugely benefit from Zirkzee’s move to United as they included a 45 per cent sell-on clause as part of their deal which saw the Dutch striker join Bologna for £7m (€8.5m) from the Bundesliga club in August 2022.
Zirkzee is currently with the Netherlands squad as they prepare for their Euro 2024 semi-final tie against England on Wednesday evening.
The striker, who was a late addition to the Dutch squad in June, was handed his first senior cap in the 2-1 win against Turkey in the Euro 2024 quarter final on Saturday night.
When asked about his future after the game, Zirkzee raised doubt over whether he will remain in Italy for another year.
Asked if he will still be playing in Italy next season, Zirkzee told Sportitalia: ‘I don’t know, let’s see.’
Asked if it’s a 50 per cent chance that he stays, Zirkzee replied: ‘Let’s see.’
