Manchester United’s attempt to sign Joshua Zirkzee comes with a stark warning from a former superstar who moved from Serie A.
Zirkzee, whose contract includes a £34 million release clause, is close to a move to Old Trafford 23 years after Juan Sebastian Veron joined from Lazio.
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The Argentine midfielder cost £28.1 million (around €22.4 million) in the UK and was considered one of the best midfielders in world football and the missing piece of Sir Alex Ferguson’s puzzle.
At Veron’s unveiling, Ferguson said: “I think I’ve always been looking for this. I never thought I would spend so much money on a footballer.”
“I think he is about to have some great years in his career and he will reach his peak and we will benefit from that. He is a fantastic world-class footballer with a vision for the game that we can exploit.”
Such was his early impact that after Veron’s arrival, club great Nicky Butt admitted that his Man United career might be over after watching his inspired performance in the 4-1 win over Everton earlier in his career with the Red Devils.
Speaking on the United We Stand podcast in 2012, Butt said: “I was suspended and sitting in the stands. He was unbelievable, so good I never thought I would play for United again.”
Veron’s first season at Man United could not have gone better: As a regular under Ferguson, he scored five goals and provided six assists in 40 games.
In his second season, however, he fell out of sight in the second half of the season after his performances did not match the expectations he had upon his record-breaking arrival.
His best performances were undoubtedly in the Champions League, where he was involved in 14 goals in 22 games for the Red Devils.
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Two years after his move, Man United limited their losses by selling Veron to Chelsea for £15 million, but his problems in England worsened and he made just 14 appearances.
Ferguson later assessed Veron’s time at Man United as follows: “Juan Veron was capable and talented of playing exceptional football. But at times he found the Premiership a little difficult.”
“He was a European player and that’s where we reached our best form.”
Should his move go ahead, Zirkzee will face a similar challenge in adjusting to life in the Premier League, and Erik ten Hag will have to help him with that.
When asked what went wrong for him in England, Veron told FourFourTwo: “He (Ferguson) made such high demands on everyone. If you couldn’t keep up, it was clear you had to look elsewhere.”
“He was always honest with me, but he supported me from day one, which I really appreciated.
Sometimes I wasn’t able to consistently give him everything he expected from me.
“In some games he managed it, in others he didn’t. And if you want to be a great player, the game has to be stable. At Old Trafford I couldn’t deliver that.”