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Louis SealeyPublished Nov 6, 2024, 7:52am|Updated Nov 6, 2024, 7:53am
Ian Wright doubts £36m signing Joshua Zirkzee will ‘make it’ at Manchester United and cannot see him playing under incoming manager Ruben Amorim.
The Premier League giants spent a little over £36m to bring Zirkzee to Old Trafford over the summer but the 23-year-old has endured an underwhelming start to his United career.
Zirkzee scored a late winner on his Manchester United debut in the Premier League opener against Fulham but has not found the back of the net since that goal in mid-August.
Perhaps his lack of goals should not come as a surprise as Zirkzee was hardly prolific at his former club Bologna, scoring 14 goals in 58 appearances for the Serie A side.
Zirkzee will hope to revive his United career under incoming boss Amorim – who arrives at Old Trafford on Monday – but ex-Arsenal and England striker Wright struggles to see where he fits in.
‘Do you know something? When I look at the strikers at Manchester United, I look at [Rasmus] Hojlund and Zirkzee,’ he said on the Wrighty’s House podcast.
‘Going forward, as a United player to take the club to the level they need to be – top-four, Champions League, title challengers – I can’t see in any formation Zirkzee making it from what I’ve seen so far.
‘I can see it with Hojlund, he looks like a future player with better players around him. He gives me the impression that if he gets in and around the box and he gets chances, he can go hot.
‘I don’t see the same with Zirkzee. I look at him and his movement, I don’t see anything in his game that makes me think, “okay, there he is, I see what he can do”.
‘I see that in Hojlund and some of the others. I can see them easily levelling up but I feel for Zirkzee.
‘United still need a striker. Whether they turn Marcus [Rashford] into that or they get a top striker in, they need one, to go alongside Hojlund and maybe for Hojlund to be the back-up.
‘I’m trying to think of Ruben Amorim coming in and who he’s going to play. Zirkzee will need to go through some massive transformation to play in the team ahead of other players.
‘He’s definitely not a natural goalscorer. I’m still waiting to see it from him.’
Zirkzee has been linked with an early move away from Manchester United following his struggles at the club.
It was even reported earlier in the week that sacked manager Erik ten Hag had reservations about signing him in the first place.
Manchester United are 13th in the Premier League – seven points above the relegation zone – after winning only three of their opening ten games.
Sporting Lisbon have been in superb form under United’s incoming manager Amorim and thrashed Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City 4-1 in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
Following the surprising defeat, Guardiola told TNT Sports: ‘You cannot say much when you lose 4-1. Congratulations to Sporting Lisbon for the game.
‘We had a fantastic first half, now we are struggling to score. We create and concede when the opponents don’t do much.
‘The first half was really good, we scored a goal, but every pass, the simple things we missed sometimes.
‘It can happen. After the third and the fourth we have to avoid it. Emotionally we were not stable enough and in this competition you have to be stable.
‘At 2-1, many things can happen. We have to be emotionally more stable. It was a very good action for them. They made a good moment, they were fast and scored.’
Manchester United return to action on Thursday night against Europa League rivals PAOK, before facing Leicester City in their final game before Amorim arrives.
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