Manchester United’s £35m man ‘had a very hard time’ as manager explains ‘5/10’ display
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As concern grows over his performances at Manchester United, Joshua Zirkzee would have been hoping that the international break would provide the change of pace he needed.
But as the Netherlands limped to a 1-1 draw away from home at Hungary in the UEFA Nations League on Friday night, Manchester United’s £35 million summer signing found himself facing questions over his role in Oranje too.
Given the nod to start ahead of former Red Devil Wout Weghorst and Brian Brobbey, Joshua Zirkzee’s goal drought continued into an eighth game before he was replaced in the 76th minute.
Zirkzee, of course, was not merely signed by Man United for his goal threat.
He found the net only 12 times last term, after all, and still claimed Serie A’s Young Player of the Year award with Bologna.
Zirkzee has been labelled the best link-man in the world, while Erik ten Hag was keen to point out that Manchester United signed the ex-Bayern Munich man because he’d bring something completely different to the table in terms of his drifting movement and excellent vision.
But as Hungary pressed aggressively and as his Netherlands team-mates dawdled on the ball, Zirkzee became a bit of a passenger at the Puskas Arena.
Netherlands boss criticises Manchester United striker Joshua Zirkzee
He ‘showed glimpses of class’, they write, but largely struggled in a game in which the physicality of Weghorst or Brobbey may have been preferable.
Netherlands boss Ronald Koeman admitted he was concerned about Zirkzee in the build-up to that Hungary trip. And Man United’s number 11 gave the manager more questions than answers as the Dutch ambled to a second successive Nations League draw.
“Joshua had a very hard time,” Koeman sighs in his press conference. “There was a lot of hustle and bustle around him. I also thought that he lost the ball unnecessarily a few times.
‘It’s logical, because everyone had a hard timer. Sometimes, we could have searched for him and found him faster. But he could have come over faster himself a few times.
The second half was a bit better. Above all [however], it was very difficult.”
United ace Zirkzee explains why he struggled in Hungary draw
Zirkzee has shown a few tantalising glimpses of his potential at Man United too.
That 3-0 win at Southampton comes to mind. A supreme number nine performance from a player who, at his free-flowing best, should be able to bring the best out of Marcus Rashford, Amad Diallo, Alejandro Garnacho and Bruno Fernandes too.
But with Rashford stuck out on the touchline thanks to Erik ten Hag’s increasingly muddled tactics, and as Bruno Fernandes himself admits that his goalscoring ways have deserted him of late, Zirkzee’s impact has not been felt as keenly as Man United would have wanted.
Still, as Koeman himself alludes to, there are certainly parts of Zirkzee’s own game which can be worked on. His first touch can be a little loose. At times, he is also a little slow to offer himself as a presence inside the penalty area.
But, at the age of 23, there is still plenty of time on Zirkzee’s side as he looks to iron out those kinks for both club and country.
“Disappointment prevails,” Zirkzee said after Friday’s fiercely contested clash. “[Hungary] got away with a lot of things. I think they did well, because they only got one yellow card with all those fouls.”
