This has not been the dream start to the season Joshua Zirkzee dreamed of when he signed for Manchester United.
Three months in, Joshua Zirkzee finds himself in the midst of a goal drought, looking like he doesn’t fit, and under fire for all sorts of reasons.
Zirkzee did get off to the perfect start at Manchester United, scoring the winner on his debut at Old Trafford.
And is that part of the problem? Has a very unfortunate curse affected Zirkzee since?
Let’s take a look at the mysterious case of the fate to befall the last seven players to score on their Manchester United debuts….
Joshua Zirkzee
Let’s address Joshua Zirkzee’s situation first. After scoring on his debut for Manchester United it all went rapidly downhill.
Zirkzee thought he had scored the next game against Brighton – only to cost United an Alejandro Garnacho goal by touching it on the line and being ruled offside. He left the pitch with his head in his hands, with a potential 2-1 win turning into a 1-2 loss.
Zirkzee has not come close to scoring since, and has been relegated to third choice striker behind Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund. There are already rumours about him returning to Serie A, and United’s £36 million spend is coming under scrutiny.
Antony
Antony scored for Manchester United on his debut in a 3-1 win against Arsenal, and Red Devils fans hoped the club had signed the next Brazilian superstar.
He actually went on to make it three goals in three matches, before it all went rapidly downhill for the former Ajax star.
Antony has lost the confidence to show the trickery he displayed in the Eredivisie, and has been exposed as too one-dimensional in the Premier League.
This season Antony has not started a single league game, playing just 27 minutes from the bench. The gargantuan fee United spent to sign him now looks like one of the biggest wastes in the club’s history, amid heavy competition.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice on his (second) debut at Manchester United, on one of the most memorable days for fans lucky enough to be in attendance.
Reality hit in his very next game when United lost 2-1 at Young Boys, and despite Ronaldo scoring 24 goals in the 2021/22 season, the superstar was left utterly miserable throughout as the team slipped from contenders to pretenders. Quite simply, the return to United was not what Ronaldo had expected or hoped it to be.
Ronaldo’s frustrations did not help the team and by time Erik ten Hag took over, he was utterly fed up. This saw his own form slide, leading to an unhappy 2022 World Cup, by which point he had already forced his release.
The United move ended up being Ronaldo’s final stint in European club football, with the superstar now spending the tail-end of his career in the Saudi Pro League.
Donny van de Beek
Donny van de Beek provided a moment of hope in a dismal 2020 home defeat to Crystal Palace, coming off the bench to score a consolation goal.
Despite this launch pad, Van de Beek’s career at United never got going. He could not earn a role as a starter, and ended up being loaned to Everton and Eintracht Frankfurt.
Even the appointment of his former Ajax boss Erik ten Hag could not rescue him. Van de Beek started an embarrassing six Premier League games for United in four years at the club.
He was sold to Girona this summer for a fraction of the fee paid, looking to rebuild his career from rock bottom.
Dan James
United hoped to have unearthed a gem when the club signed Dan James from Swansea City in 2019, and watched him score against Chelsea on his debut in a 4-0 win.
James went on to score in his next two games, before his luck ran out. While a useful part of Solskjaer’s side, the Welshman struggled to convince, and was sold when Jadon Sancho signed two years later.
The speedy winger is now back where he started, playing Championship football, currently at Leeds.
Romelu Lukaku
Romelu Lukaku netted on his United debut in the UEFA Super Cup against Real Madrid, a goal that proved to be a consolation.
Jose Mourinho hoped Lukaku would fulfil his potential at Old Trafford. But after scoring 25 Premier League goals for Everton in 2016/17, he followed up with only 16 for United in his debut campaign.
A further 12 goals in 2018/19 was even less convincing, and United cashed in to Inter Milan, managing to break more or less even, reflecting on a disappointing two year spell where the Belgian trod water, instead of improving the team.
Josh Harrop
Josh Harrop scored on his Manchester United debut against Crystal Palace on the final day of the 2016/17 season, and decided to take his chances as a free agent weeks later.
Perhaps Harrop never would have made it at United, but his lack of success since warrants his addition to this list.
Harrop signed with Preston, which he hoped would provide a springboard to better things. But injuries took their toll, with the winger suffering a torn ACL in 2018.
Former England under-20 international Harrop can currently be found playing for League Two side Cheltenham Town.
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