The 18-year-old forward, who has burst onto the Bundesliga scene this season, took in a trial with the Toffees but ended up heading to Germany instead
Bayern Munich’s teenage sensation Joshua Zirkzee has revealed that he came close to following in the footsteps of Romelu Lukaku at Everton.
Back in 2017, a move to Merseyside was a “serious option” for the highly-rated forward when a trial spell was taken in with the Toffees, with Zirkzee given an opportunity to prove his worth to then boss Ronald Koeman.
Everton were in the market for more attacking talent at that stage, with Lukaku having left for Manchester United, but more readymade options were required.
Editors’ Picks
- Upamecano on hold? Assessing Arsenal’s January transfer options
- Drinkwater’s £35m Chelsea move was doomed from the start
- Woodward & Solskjaer offering no solutions to Man Utd’s seemingly endless cycle of mediocrity
- Chess grandmaster Guardiola outclasses Ole as City embarrass United in Manchester derby
Zirkzee slipped the net as a result, despite having seen a contract put to him, and made his way to Germany.
The 18-year-old has burst onto a Bundesliga stage this season, netting within seconds of stepping off the bench to make his debut in that competition against Freiburg.
He was also among the goals in a meeting with Wolfsburg and has become a useful asset in Bayern’s armoury.
Things could have been very different for the Netherlands-born youngster, though, had his potential been snapped up by the Toffees when they had the chance.
Zirkzee told Voetbal International: “Everton was a serious option for me.
“”Ronald Koeman was coach, Romelu Lukaku left for Manchester United that summer and I got the feeling from Everton that there was a good chance I could really become something there.
“They even offered me a contract whilst I was on trial.”
Everton’s loss has been Bayern’s gain, with Zirkzee having moved quickly through the youth system at the Allianz Arena.
He made his competitive bow for the club in a Champions League clash with Tottenham in December 2019.
Article continues below
His goalscoring exploits in the Bundesliga followed shortly after, with the talented frontman now looking to follow in the footsteps of Robert Lewandowski and Co by becoming the main man for the Munich-based giants.
Zirkzee added: “After I first trained with Bayern, I knew that’s who I wanted to join. I told myself, let me do three sessions – then I’ll decide if I’m good enough.
“They told me I have the quality, but also that they wanted to work on my conditioning, among other things. They’ve been true to their word. I want to become the main striker at Bayern – that’s always been my objective.”