Joshua Zirkzee sat on the bench for the entire game last weekend against Manchester City, but must start against Fulham.
Manchester United’s newest attacking recruit is here, and yet he has yet to play a single minute for the team as we are mere hours away from the Premier League opener against Fulham.
Arriving back late from the Euros meant that Joshua Zirkzee missed out on pre-season and was an unused substitute for Erik ten Hag against Man City.
This was due to him not being ready to play, but what happened in the game against City means Ten Hag does not have a choice but to play him against Fulham as United kick off the Premier League season.
Michael Owen has already tipped Zirkzee as the best signing in the Premier League this summer at a bargain £36.5m fee, and now it is time to unleash him upon Fulham.
Here is why…
Zirkzee could fix the issue which cost Man Utd vs Man City
Against Man City last weekend, United were very impressive, creating well over double the expected goals of Pep Guardiola’s side.
Ten Hag named a starting 11 in this game which was without a striker, and while the gameplan worked – just one goal from 1.36 xG and plenty more goalscoring opportunities show that this was missed.
United had multiple chances to put the ball into the box, but there were no players to aim for – which was seen on a couple of occasions when the cross was sent in it was begging for a striker to get on the end of it – something which would have avoided penalties.
In this regard, adding Zirkzee to the starting team on Friday night could have a huge impact and leave the Red Devils far more dangerous going forward – while the players would also benefit, such as the lightning Alejandro Garnacho.
With the amount of chances and football United could play in and around the box, having a true number nine would be very beneficial – therefore Ten Hag must hand him his debut.
Zirkzee has huge opportunity to establish himself at Old Trafford
When he decided to join United, Zirkzee will have known the path to starter was not obstacle-free – with competition likely to be fierce with Rasmus Hojlund.
This means the Dutchman cannot afford to be wasting opportunities at being the starting striker for United, as it may not come around all too often if Hojlund develops as expected.
Zirkzee therefore needs to be quick out of the blocks at United and starting against Fulham and scoring is exactly the start he needs here.
So it is in the interest of both Zirkzee and Ten Hag for the No.11 to start against Fulham. Let’s hope we get to see him leading the line.
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