Manchester United have learned Juventus’ alternative signing to Joshua Zirkzee is finally proving his worth after a difficult start.

Zirkzee was poised to join Juventus on a season-long loan in the summer having struggled to make the grade at Old Trafford.

However, the Serie A giants decided to sign Newcastle United and Germany striker Nick Woltemade on a temporary basis instead.

Keen to bounce back from an up-and-down season with Newcastle last term, Woltemade was unable to hit the ground running at Juventus.

Luciano Spalletti’s side have struggled for goals at times this season, leading to criticism of Woltemade by some sections of the Italian media.

However, the 24-year-old is slowly turning things around in Turin, having scored three goals in the Europa League this season.

And Gazzetta dello Sport’s Filippo Cornacchia was full of praise for Woltemade after he impressed alongside Randal Kolo Muani against Lecce on Sunday.

He writes: “Woltemade is extremely tall, yet anything but static. At the end of August, he edged out Zirkzee in the race for a spot in the Juventus side, and he continues to prove his worth behind the scenes.

“‘I always have faith in Kolo Muani; Randal helps his teammates by intimidating the opposition’, Spalletti remarked. That may be true, but the former [Italy] national team coach has recently found stability and certainty using a 3-5-2 formation, with the 198-centimetre-tall German forward (Woltemade) serving as the focal point for the team's counter-attacks.

Back in Bianconero… ⚪️⚫️

Randal Kolo Muani returns! 👊

🗞️ https://t.co/3VkluXb1uD

Powered by @Jeep https://t.co/Nv9M2eXOQD

— JuventusFC 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@juventusfcen) August 2, 2026

“In fact, (Kerim) Alajbegovic could well be the one to start alongside Nick tonight [at Genoa]. During the final training session, Spalletti rotated between the Bosnian playmaker and Kolo Muani - with one set to start next to Woltemade, and the other likely to feature later in the match.”

Zirkzee has struggled for regular minutes at United

While Woltemade is still searching for his first goal in Serie A, his recent performances appear to have closed-off a potential destination for Zirkzee in January.

There remains plenty of speculation surrounding the future of the Netherlands international, who is still on the periphery at United.

Despite the absence of the injured Benjamin Sesko, United boss Michael Carrick has overlooked Zirkzee in favour of using winger Bryan Mbeumo as a striker.

Zirkzee joined the Red Devils from Bologna for €43million (£36m) in July 2024 but has struggled to impress in England, scoring 10 goals in 83 games.

The 25-year-old did score in the 4-1 loss at Como in the Champions League last week - a result which increased the pressure on beleaguered manager Carrick.

Carrick will remain in charge for the trip to Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday after being given an opportunity to arrest the club’s slide.

The 45-year-old is under huge pressure after overseeing a dreadful run of form which has conjured just two wins from 12 games this season.