Third new face in 4 days

Valencia welcomed their 3rd new arrival in just 4 days as they announced the confirmation that young Dutch striker Joshua Zirkzee would be joining the club on a season long loan from German giants Bayern München. Zirkzee becomes the 3rd player to join on a season long deal, with the Spanish side clearly keen to utilise the loan market wherever possible due to the current financial stability at the club. The arrival of the 19 year old means that any deal to sign current trialist Daniel Sturridge longer term may now not be considered, with the youth international now expected to provide back up and cover to the front pairing of Gameiro and Maxi Gomez.

As a child, Zirkzee played youth football with several clubs before eventually finding himself in the Feyenoord youth academy in 2016. He was to spend just one year with the Rotterdam side in his native country before heading across the border to join Bundesliga giants Bayern. Continuing his progression with the German side, he eventually broke through into the second team, earning all the plaudits as he scored a hat-trick in his debut for the club in the Regionalliga. One day later he was back in the Under-19s, and scoring again as they won 2-1. Following the promotion of Bayern II, Zirkzee would make his professional debut for the club in July 2019, coming on in place of fellow promising youngster Oliver Batista Meier. At the end of that calendar year, he would then make his debut for the first team, in the final group stage match of the Champions’ League against English side Tottenham Hotspur. A week later he made his debut in the Bundesliga, coming on as a 90th minute sub before almost immediately scoring the to put his side back ahead in what eventually became a 3-1 victory against Freiburg. Just 2 days later he was at it again, coming off the bench to score another key goal, this time the winner as Bayern overthrew Wolfsburg. He would end the season with an impressive tally of 4 goals in just 9 appearances in the Bundesliga, also picking up medals in the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and Champions League come the end of the season.

Given his impact and talent, there is no surprise he has featured heavily throughout the youth ranks for his national team, currently representing the Netherlands at Under-19 level, where he has 8 goals in 9 games. With a Nigerian mother and Dutch father, he could have opted to play for either country, but opted to represent his home nation. Arriving on a year long loan, Valencia will be hoping that Zirkzee can continue the fine ability he has shown in his career to date, to help fire the club up the table. Given his ability to come off the bench and nick a goal, he could hopefully become a key arrival at the Mestalla in the coming months.