Amorim told he has one unlikely player in his ranks who ‘makes something happen every time he plays’, he must take note

Owen Hargreaves singled out Joshua Zirkzee for praise following the forward’s impactful cameo against Leeds United yesterday.Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw on their arch-rivals’ turf, squandering yet another golden opportunity to move to fourth before the subsequent Premier League fixtures later on Sunday.It took until the second half for either side to find a breakthrough, with Brenden Aaronson capitalising on Ayden Heaven’s lapse of concentration to open the scoring with a well-taken finish in the 62nd minute.Immediately after the ball hit the back of Senne Lammens’ net, Ruben Amorim introduced Zirkzee to the action in place of Leny Yoro.How Zirkzee fared vs Leeds(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)The Dutchman proceeded to have an immediate impact; he assisted Matheus Cunha for United’s leveller just three minutes after Aaronson’s strike.Zirkzee very nearly had another assist added to his tally moments later, as he played in Benjamin Sesko with a cut-back cross into the area, but the striker fired his effort wide of the post.Aside from his contribution, United’s No.11 completed 14 passes, made five passes into the final third and created two chances with the 22 touches he had in only 27 minutes.He’ll be hoping such a stellar display will lead to him being restored to Amorim’s starting XI when the Reds travel to Turf Moor on Wednesday evening.For the draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers last Tuesday, Zirkzee was given the nod for the fourth time this season and, despite scoring what would end up being United’s only goal of the game in the 27th minute, he was withdrawn from the action at the interval and replaced by youngster Jack Fletcher. Joshua Zirkzee has goal involvements in consecutive Premier League matches for the first time in his career. Impact. 💥 pic.twitter.com/IeLJuQU1em — Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) January 4, 2026What Hargreaves had to say about Zirkzee(Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)When reacting to the afternoon’s affairs on TNT Sports, Hargreaves said: “Every time he plays, I think he makes something happen. I think he’s a good ball player. When he gets on the ball, he makes things happen.“I think he’s a smart player, he’s a ball carrier. And he made a huge difference on this side. You know, he opens things up, he gets into good positions. And we said before, again, get bodies in the box.“He allows you to do that because they get bodies up there in numbers. And I just thought he gave the team, technically, something they didn’t have in the first half. [Patrick] Dorgu was playing in that position [right attacking midfield] – that’s not his game; he’s a left back or a left wing back. Zirkzee, I thought he had a big impact on the game.”