Amorim wants Zirkzee to stay

Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim has expressed his intentions to keep forward Joshua Zirkzee at the club.

The Netherlands international received a negative reaction from a frustrated Old Trafford crowd when being substituted in the first half of the 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United last Monday.

He has since been linked with a return to Serie A in some quarters but the former Bologna forward was cheered and had his name sung by the away end at Liverpool, and introduced by Amorim during the closing stages of the 2-2 draw.

Zirkzee was met with a positive reception whilst going to warm up as the travelling fans gave him a round of applause during the first half.

There was a similarly warm reaction when he was brought on for Rasmus Hojlund in the 86th minute.

When asked directly by talkSPORT about Zirkzee’s future, our head coach replied: “I want to keep Josh because he gives everything and he’s trying in training but we don’t know.

“The window is open and we will see what happens. We just need to focus on training and to take this for the other games. It’s just one point so let’s focus on the performance for the next games.”

In terms of his decision to square a chance for Harry Maguire at the death, that bobbled just before the defender steered it over the bar, Ruben felt it was the right call to pass. Although Zirkzee may possibly have been marginally offside in any case, Amorim said: “I think he made the right decision. He doesn’t have the perfect angle.

“He could shoot but he has the composure to pass the ball in the centre of the box for Harry to shoot.”

Skipper Bruno Fernandes was also asked about Zirkzee by talkSPORT after the game and gave a typically passionate response about his team-mate.

“I was in the stands [against Newcastle] and have never seen something like this,” he said. “And it really frustrates and annoys me because he is a player who always gives his all.

“As a player coming into the team from a different league, he needs time to adapt but he has huge qualities. He hasn’t shown all the quality but it can’t be, from the first game of the season, everyone was hyping him as one of the best strikers and now everyone doesn’t believe in him anymore. We do believe in him inside the dressing room.”

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