Manchester United’s track record in recent times when it comes to recruiting strikers has been abysmal as seen from the displays put in by Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee since their arrival.
A lot was expected from the Dane when the Red Devils decided to spend an initial £64 million to bring him to the Premier League from Atalanta.
After a decent debut season, the wheels completely came off the bus last term, as the 22-year-old managed a meagre four Premier League goals in the whole campaign.
INEOS decided to bring in support for the Denmark international last summer, and instead of going for a proven performer, they once again decided to bet on potential in the form of Joshua Zirkzee.
United’s striker woes
The Dutch star impressed with his link-up play but was not the most prolific in front of goal as he netted just three times in the English top-flight.
Due to the lack of goals, United are in the same boat as in the last two summers, with Ruben Amorim desperate for attacking reinforcements.
And the Red Devils are likely to bring in a new striker once again, with Benjamin Sesko seen as the preferred option as per David Ornstein.
Zirkzee has admitted that both he and Hojlund have failed to set the stage alight and need to do better. And added competition is not an issue for him.
“I think competition from new signings is part of being at this club,” Zirkzee was quoted as saying by The Manchester Evening News.
“To be honest, I don’t read the news but if another striker were to come I guess it’s only good competition, so I’m not really worried. Everything is for the team, there’s no selfishness here, that’s not my mantra. If it were to help the team then great.
“I’m not here to decide what’s fair and unfair, I just know that me and Rasmus can do better and have to do better. That’s all I can say about that.
Zirkzee admits strikers failed last season
“I’m very confident, everyone’s very confident. We’ve got competition so whichever position the coach needs me is the position I’ll play, if that’s a 10 or a striker it’s no different. The coach knows me well and knows exactly what to do and I’ve 100% trust in the coach so I’m not worried about that.
“He (Ruben Amorim) wants goals so that’s what I have to work on. That’s what it all comes down to. I’m a different profile (of striker) but in the end if you’re up top you’re supposed to score goals, I’m not going to take that fact away.
“But the most important thing is that we win, so if Bruno (Fernandes) scores 60 goals and we win all the games that’s fine.”
Amorim clearly likes the Netherlands international due to his versatility and despite being linked with an exit, he is likely to stay at Old Trafford.
He can play as a No.9 and as a No.10, which will help the 20-time English league champions. But the Dane’s future remains uncertain due to his overall poor play and a new striker’s arrival could spell the end of his United career.
Feature image Carl Recine via Getty Images
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Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
