Joshua Zirkzee ‘makes it clear’! Man Utd striker picks ideal next club as Dutchman seeks January exit from Old Trafford

Back in April, just six months into Amorim’s tenure at United, the Portuguese manager had already highlighted what he wants from Zirkzee, who along with Danish forward Rasmus Hojlund, was not enjoying a sparkling first season at Old Trafford. 

Amorim had said: “I think he’s improving in a lot of aspects. I think he needs to be more selfish, and that is a thing when you play as a striker. He’s not a typical striker, but he has to be more selfish. He’s more aggressive now, he works better now, he’s defending better now, he’s connecting quite well. He played as a striker in some games, especially against Arsenal he did really, really well. Then in some games, against [Real] Sociedad, he played as a 10, so he can adapt to different situations. So, I see that Josh is improving and showing good things.” 

This was before the Europa League outing against Lyon, a game where Zirkzee actually found the back of the net in the 88th minute to give United a 2-1 lead, only to see Rayan Cherki spoil their part with an injury time equaliser. Since then, Zirkzee missed a chunk of games due to a thigh injury, only to return in the Europa League final, where United lost 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur. Amorim’s overlooking of Zirkzee might indicate that the Dutch striker has fallen out of favour at Carrington, albeit mainly due to performance issues.