“Odd cheer” – OT nightmare returns to haunt ‘miserable’ Man Utd star exactly one year later

A section of Manchester United fans were happy to see Joshua Zirkzee hooked at half-time, and they let their feeling be known.The 24-year-old hasn’t started a match since the draw against West Ham on December 4. However, with Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo taking part in the African Cup of Nations, and Mason Mount also unavailable due to an injury, Ruben Amorim opted to play the Dutch attacker alongside Benjamin Sesko against Wolves on Tuesday.The game ended in a disappointing 1-1 draw for the Red Devils, who dropped points against the Premier League’s ultimate whipping boys, who hadn’t registered a point since early October.Zirkzee was the author of the opener, taking advantage of a lucky deflection to beat Jose Sa. However, not even a goal could spare him a half-time exit.(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)Man United fans replicate the Joshua Zirkzee cheer-offAfter the interval, Zirkzee made way for Jack Fletcher, as Amorim opted to change his formation from 3-4-3 to 4-2-3-1.Interestingly, the Sun journalist Samuel Luckhurst revealed that when the stadium announcrer revealed that the former Bologna star has been replaced, a section of the Old Trafford supporters welcomed the news with an ‘odd cheer’. There was the odd cheer when it was announced that Zirkzee had come off for Fletcher. #mufc — Samuel Luckhurst (@samuelluckhurst) December 30, 2025This incident made for an uncanny coincidence, as Zirkzee was cheered off by his own supporters at the stadium exactly one year ago (December 30, 2024), when he was hauled off just 33 minutes into Man Utd’s match against Newcastle.At the time, the embarrassed player headed straight to the locker room, only to re-appear in the dugout a few minutes later.Will this incident push Zirkzee further away from Man Utd?Luckily for Zirkzee, the cheers weren’t as loud this time, but they were audible enough to express the fans’ displeasure with his overall performance.It should be noted that the striker managed to pounce back from last year’s unsavoury incident, and become a fan favourite among Stretford End supporters.However, this latest episode could further encourage Zirkzee, who has been describle as a ‘miserable’ figure at Carrington due to his lack of playing time this season, to chew over his market options.The player has reportedly given the green light to a January transfer to Roma, who are said to be negotiating a deal with Man Utd. Nevertheless, INEOS insist on finding a replacement before sanctioning the Dutchman’s departure.