Manchester United had to rely on two moments of brilliance from Amad Diallo to get past PAOK in the Europa League at Old Trafford on Thursday.
While the Ivorian grabbed a second-half brace, the rest of the team looked flat and the players lacked urgency with the rest of the forwards struggling.
Rasmus Hojlund barely got into the game and he now has only two goals in 11 games. At 21, it is a huge task to lead the line for the 20-time English league champions and while inconsistency is expected, the club need more.
Interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy still has faith but the reality is that incoming head coach Ruben Amorim will have a huge job on his hands in trying to get his No 9 firing.
United strikers have struggled
Equally concerning is the form of summer signing Joshua Zirkzee. Despite the Dane’s obvious difficulties against the Greek champions, the interim boss only brought on the Netherlands international in the 90th minute.
He scored on his debut and since then, has looked well off the pace and the United hierarchy’s decision to recruit young again this season looks like it is backfiring.
And as per The Independent, the Sporting Lisbon boss’ extraordinary work with Viktor Gyokeres has not gone unnoticed and was one of the reasons INEOS decided to go for him as Erik ten Hag’s successor.
The new-look United board feel that the 39-year-old has the potential to unlock both their young stars, just like he did with a player who had arrived from the Championship.
“Gyokeres has revelled under Amorim, and it has already been discussed at Old Trafford how the Portuguese can perhaps have a similar effect on Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee. That topic did come up in negotiations.”
Amorim’s task
The Swede came to Sporting from Coventry City and has since added a new level to his play under the soon-to-be United coach, making him one of the most sought-after stars in world football currently.
He has scored 23 goals in only 17 games this season including a stunning hat-trick against Manchester City in the Champions League.
And hopefully, Amorim can unleash the potentials of both Hojlund and Zirkzee in similar fashion. Despite a difficult start to his United career, the Denmark international did end last season as the club’s top-scorer.
As for the Dutch forward, he shone during his time in Bologna and his link-up play will offer a different option to Amorim. It will be interesting to see how the Portuguese tactician operates once he joins on November 11.
Feature image Carl Recine via Getty Images
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
