Ruben Amorim has “no faith” in Manchester United flops Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee but INEOS ignored the “signal” the head coach sent in defeat to Crystal Palace.
Hojlund joined United from Atalanta in 2023 but has scored just 12 goals in 49 Premier League games, while Zirkzee has three goals in 24 games since his £34m move from Bologna in the summer.
Both strikers were left out of the starting lineup for the 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace on Sunday, with midfielder Kobbie Mainoo preferred to lead the line by Amorim.
The experiment didn’t work but former United defender Paul Parker believes the head coach was sending a signal to the club bosses to sign a goalscorer before the end of the transfer window.
“I understand the reasons why he did it – Kobbie has a good brain and knows what is expected of a centre forward and what he would want from a striker if he was playing deeper,” Parker told Metro.
“But it wasn’t going to work because he’s not a renowned goalscorer. It only works if you have midfield players who are going to run past him but they haven’t got enough athleticism within the team to play that way.
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“As well, it could have been a signal to the people above him to let them know that he has no faith in the two players he has tried there.
“It’s like having two goalkeepers on the bench. Every fan knows that when a manager puts two keepers on the bench, he’s making a point to those above him that he needs someone. I think it could have been that.
“I don’t know how well it would have gone down but he didn’t get what he needed badly (in the transfer market).
“It would have lifted the fans if they had gone out and got a centre forward. It didn’t have to be a massive name just someone who wants to prove a point. Now it’s going to be a big struggle until the end of the season.”
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Amorim’s attacking options were depleted in the winter window as Antony and Marcus Rashford left the club on loan, joining Real Sociedad and Aston Villa respectively.
Parker believes the Portuguese boss made the right call to let Rashford after the England international announced his desire for a “new challenge” in mid-December.
“I don’t think he’ll regret letting him go because he won’t give Amorim what he wants. He’s not a natural centre forward either,’ Parker added.
“You saw in the Ipswich game that, yes he scored, but he was non-existent as a centre forward. He doesn’t like people behind him because he doesn’t like getting kicked. Every time he stepped forward, you could see he was tense because he was worried about the people behind him.
“As well, he didn’t need that situation with Rashford and his attitude from January until the end of the season. He didn’t need that around affecting the squad. The most important is the majority over any one individual.”
