Man Utd boss Ruben Amorim was spotted “berating” Joshua Zirkzee in the final minute of their 1-1 draw against Ipswich Town on Sunday.
Marcus Rashford opened the scoring inside two minutes before a long-range deflected effort from Omari Hutchinson gave the Tractor Boys a share of the spoils.
The point pushed Man Utd up one place to 12th in the Premier League table and also marked a small forward step in Amorim’s first match in charge of the Red Devils.
A big theme of discussion this season has been the lack of goals from Man Utd with Rashford, Rasmus Hojlund and Zirkzee only scoring four goals between them all campaign.
Zirkzee, who was signed from Serie A side Bologna for £36.5m in the summer transfer window, has already been linked with a move back to Italy with some reports claiming the Man Utd board see him as a ‘lost cause’ already.
And The Sun journalist Jack Rosser has revealed that Amorim “absolutely berated” the Netherlands international for failing to get into the box in the dying embers of their draw against Ipswich.
Sharing what he saw from the press box on Sky Sports Back Pages Podcast, Rosser said: “Yeah, well, I was at Ipswich on Sunday, and I watched him closely. It was interesting to watch his body language and his reaction on the touchline, because he was very frustrated with a lot of his players.
“There was an incident right at the end of the game, 93rd minute, they’re chasing a winner, and he absolutely berated Joshua Zirkzee for just not getting in the penalty area.
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“He was strolling around 20 yards outside the penalty box, and he said, look, he basically made him sprint into the box. And he actually referenced that after the game, saying that Zirkzee has to know that he’s got to be in the box, he referenced Jonny Evans not getting close enough to certain players. So he’s not afraid of saying it as he is.”
Amorim left Portman Road on Saturday with the realisation that he definitely needs a new left-back with transfer expert Fabrizio Romano confirming Man Utd “will sign” a player in that position.
Romano said on his YouTube channel: “Now I am in the position to confirm, once again, that Manchester United will sign a new left-back, left wing-back, let’s call him as you prefer, now Ruben Amorim is playing with the back three, but Man United want to go for a proper left back.
“From what I’m hearing, even after the Ipswich game, the message from Ruben Amorim to Manchester United management is, we need a player in that position in 2025.
“Could be January, could be summer, based on opportunities, based on price, based on several factors, but Man United want to go for a player in that position.”
