Simon Cowell has just angered a lot of devastated fans

With devastated One Direction fans still in the pits of despair over the news that Zayn Malik has quit the band for good, we can’t imagine that they will be too pleased by the latest news.

According to reports, Simon Cowell has already snapped Zayn up as a solo artist on his Syco record label, and will be mentoring him as he prepares to go it alone.

While this is good news for those die-hard Zayn fans who just want to hear that beautiful voice, no doubt many will be gutted by the move.

Sources claim that Simon secured an agreement with Zayn right after he quit the band, so as to avoid any release clashes with One Direction.

“Simon was very understanding about him leaving the band but quickly made it clear he would stay a Syco artist for his future projects. He’ll now be able to make sure any releases are timed so they don’t clash with anything by One Direction,” an insider told The Sun.

The news that Zayn is going solo has no doubt come as a shock to disappointed fans, particularly after saying that the reason he quit One Direction was so that he could ‘be a normal 22-year-old’.

It will be interesting to see how his new career pans out.