Manchester United’s pre-season has gone according to plan so far, with the squad taking shape as per Ruben Amorim’s wishes, but one star is getting left behind.
Ruben Amorim made his intentions clear before the pre-season even began, as five players were frozen out as they weren’t in his plans.
Since then, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo signed before the USA tour, while some exciting youngsters were given clarity over their immediate futures.
Overall, it has been a positive pre-season with not much to complain about, except for the situation of one player who was tipped for a big season but hasn’t got off the mark yet.
Joshua Zirkzee the sole blot on Man Utd’s pre-season so far
Cunha has impressed during pre-season, Diego Leon is upending expectations, and there is excitement around what Mbeumo can do.
The three new arrivals have settled well, and that is in addition to Patrick Dorgu taking a leap, Rasmus Hojlund looking fairly encouraging, and Bruno Fernandes doing what Bruno Fernandes does.
However, amidst the festivities, Joshua Zirkzee is sticking out as the sole blot on Man Utd’s pre-season so far, as injury issues haven’t allowed him to get off the mark.
Amorim had big plans for Zirkzee this season, and he had clearly jumped Hojlund in the race to be United’s No. 9 when both were fit.
Zirkzee’s fit with Mbeumo and Cunha had the fans salivating because of their complementary playing styles, but all that remains hypothetical.
The Dutchman hasn’t played a game so far due to a small issue at the start of pre-season, but one that hasn’t allowed him to even attend training as usual.
Ahead of the Bournemouth game, Zirkzee missed training again, and with the rest of the squad working on automatisms and playing patterns, he is missing out on crucial tactical instructions and familiarity.
Ruben Amorim’s handling of Mbeumo is bad news for Zirkzee
Mbeumo has been a picture of reliability during his time in England, but even he was ruled out of the first two games on the tour as Amorim deemed him not to be match-ready.
That is after the player trained with Brentford, and then continued to do so with United since arriving without any injury issues.
If Amorim was so particular about match-readiness for such a player, then it spells bad news for Zirkzee, who is not just missing matches, but missing training as well.
It would be a huge surprise if Zirkzee plays any minutes on the US tour, and with the next game on August 9, the last one before the season begins, chances are that he has already lost his first-choice striker position.
His troubles will be exacerbated if United sign a striker, which is looking increasingly likely.
He had a point to prove in pre-season after arriving slightly unfit last summer, but this one has gone even worse for him due to an injury that is taking away the most crucial time of the season.
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