“We want to count on him”: United star urges gamechanger vs Leeds to reject January overtures

Manchester United fought back to play out a 1-1 draw against fierce rivals Leeds United away at Elland Road on Sunday. It was the hosts who took the lead in the 62nd minute, which forced Ruben Amorim to ditch his 3-4-3 system in favour of playing four at the back. He sacrificed a defender for an extra attacker, and Joshua Zirkzee’s introduction seemed to spark the Red Devils back to life. His accurate through ball was squeezed into the back of the net by Matheus Cunha. Matheus Cunha praises Zirkzee impact The Brazilian praised the Dutchman’s impact after the game, while also urging him to stay back amid links with a return to the Serie A in January. Zirkzee has not had too many opportunities to shine, while the head coach even subbed him off in the last game despite his goal. “Josh is a pleasure to play with him, he has a lot of quality. His situation is not good but he has the quality to change it,” the Brazil international told BBC. “He needs to understand this and we want to count on him. We are here to push him. After the goal last week and the assist today he will have more confidence to be with us and do his role.” On extra responsibility A lot of responsibility has been placed on the Brazilian in the absence of the likes of Bruno Fernandes, Mason Mount, Amad, and Bryan Mbeumo. The 26-year-old is starting to answer his critics, and now has three goals and one assist in his last six appearances. “Of course, wearing this shirt we have the responsibility to give everything but it’s not more. When everyone is here they can create with me and helps a lot to create good things,” he explained to TNT. Offside drama “It was an important point for us. We talked about the resilience. Everyone knows how important the players are that were missing today but we have a big character in the team. We did it and I hope we can do a lot more the next game.” He scored a stunner in the first half but unfortunately was ruled out for offside in the buildup. “Honestly I don’t understand. I talked to the referee and I asked him ‘Who was offside’ and he said Ben [Sesko] I think but I don’t remember him participating in the action. “It was Casemiro who gave the ball to me and then I shot so I’m not sure where Sesko is. For me it was a little bit frustrating.” Feature image Michael Regan via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Ayantan Chowdhury After failing to become a professional footballer, Ayantan switched to the next best thing: writing about the greatest football club in the world. He has extensive sports journalism experience, having worked for over 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25