Erik ten Hag has made his feelings clear about the comparisons made between new Manchester United summer signing Joshua Zirkzee and one iconic World Cup winner.
Joshua Zirkzee arrived at Old Trafford this summer after Manchester United agreed to sign him for a £36.54m from Serie A side Bologna.
United paid a higher fee than Zirkzee’s former release clause of £33.6m to spread the payment of the transfer fee over a three-year period.
Former Bologna forward Zirkzee had missed United’s pre-season tour in the summer after representing the Netherlands at Euro 2024 in Germany.
The 23-year-old Dutchman made the bench for the Community Shield earlier this month, but Zirkzee was an unused substitute in the defeat to Manchester City.
Zirkzee made his United debut last week after he came off the bench in the second half of the Premier League opener against Fulham at Old Trafford.
The Netherlands international made his mark in the first match of the Premier League season, with Zirkzee scoring the winner in the 87th minute against Fulham.
Ten Hag on Zirkzee comparison
Erik ten Hag welcomed the arrival of Joshua Zirkzee to Manchester United after Anthony Martial’s departure at the end of the 2023-24 campaign.
The 54-year-old United boss was already dealt a major blow when Rasmus Hojlund picked up an injury in the 2-1 pre-season defeat to Arsenal last month.
Rasmus Hojlund is expected to be out of action for six weeks and the Denmark striker is likely to return after the September international break.
Former Bologna head coach Thiago Motta had previously made the bold claim that Zirkzee reminded him of Brazil legend Ronaldinho.
Ten Hag wasted no time in not entertaining Thiago Motta’s claim and insisted that he does not want to compare Zirkzee with the likes of Ronaldinho.
“I think you should never compare players with each other,” he told SuperSport.
“Every player is different. Every person is different. He brings his own identity.”
Ten Hag talks signing Zirkzee for Man Utd
Ten Hag waxed lyrical about the potential of Zirkzee and called him “very creative,” despite admitting that he will require some “adjustment” for the Premier League.
“He’s still a young player, but already he has an impressive career so far,” he said.
“He played in Germany, played in Belgium, played in Italy, so he already carries experiences. Now he’s coming to the Premier League.
“Of course, he needs adjustment. He has a great skill set for such a big guy. He has a great technical skillset and he has a great intuition of play.
“He can be very creative. I think it fits really well into this club.”
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