Former Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag was against the signing of Dutch attacking sensation Joshua Zirkzee.
According to a report from The Sun, Manchester United acquired the services of Joshua Zirkzee in the summer against the desire of former boss Erik ten Hag. The Bologna striker arrived at Old Trafford a stone overweight and he has struggled to get going at his new club.
Zirkzee might have failed to establish himself in the Bayern Munich first team but a permanent switch to Bologna in the summer of 2022 helped him revive his career. On the back of his impressive performances for the Italian outfit, the Red Devils signed him in the last summer window.
United signed Zirkzee against Ten Hag’s wishes
They forked out £36.5 million to bring the Dutch forward to England. Unfortunately, the move hasn’t really gone according to plan. While he did bag a goal on his Premier League debut, he is yet to find the back of the net again despite having featured in 15 matches (starting in seven of those fixtures).
He is already being considered a massive flop and the report reveals that he was not one of Erik ten Hag’s targets to reinforce his attack. The Dutch manager didn’t want to sign the 23-year-old but it was United’s new-look recruitment team that decided to bet on him as he looked like a cost-effective option.
While he seemed like a good value-for-money signing, the move hasn’t worked out so far. Zirkzee is well capable of starting as a number nine but he prefers playing behind an out-and-out striker. Since United needed a proper goal scorer to support Rasmus Hojlund, it seems the United board hasn’t really made the right decision in signing the former Bologna star.
United signed him against Ten Hag’s desire and the Dutch manager was disappointed to see him arrive at Old Trafford overweight. He has struggled to get to optimum fitness levels but with Ruben Amorim coming in, the young forward will have a clean slate to impress the Portuguese manager and get his career back on track.
