Zirkzee: Bologna leading goalscorer omitted from Netherlands EURO 2024 squad

Bologna top goalscorer Joshua Zirkzee will not feature at the EURO 2024 tournament in Germany this summer after being left off Ronald Koemann’s provisional 30-man list.

Several international sides, including recent World Cup winners France and Germany, as well as the aforementioned Netherlands, released their provisional squads on Thursday.

Though the Netherlands have issued an initial 30-player squad, which will need to be trimmed down to 26 for the final tournament, Zirkzee has not made the cut.

Five other Serie A players are in contention to represent the Netherlands at the EUROs, however, including Inter defenders Denzel Dumfries and Stefan de Vrij, plus Atalanta Midfielders Marten De Roon and Teun Koopmeiners, as well as Milan’s Tijjani Reijnders.

Unfortunate for Zirkzee

The 22-year-old striker has been one of Thiago Motta’s key players during the 2023-24 season, in what will go down as an historic campaign as Bologna secured a spot in the final edition of the Champions League for the first time since the competition’s inception.

He has netted 11 goals and laid on five further assists for his teammates across 34 matches in Serie A this campaign.

For large parts of the season, reports have suggested that Zirkzee is ready to step up to a ‘big’ club this summer, with Milan rumoured to be the most interested party in Italy.

The player reportedly has a €40m release clause in his contract. Though some understood that clause to be valid only for his former club Bayern Munich, it has since been clarified that the Bavarians have the first right of refusal, and that the clause is in fact valid for all clubs.

Additionally, Corriere dello Sport claim that Bayern Munich, who already have England captain Harry Kane and promising talent Mathys Tel on their books, are not interested in buying Zirkzee back this summer.