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Joshua Zirkzee is close to making his Man United debut, with Erik ten Hag remaining patient with the young striker.
Manchester United spent pretty big on bringing Joshua Zirkzee to Old Trafford this summer, with the striker leaving Bologna to play for Erik ten Hag’s Red Devils.
The Dutch forward was given extra time off due to his participation at the European Championship, hence, we are yet to see the new boy in action.
We’re now gearing up to take on Fulham in the opening Premier League match of the campaign. Zirkzee hasn’t had any minutes to adjust to his new teammates and the style of play. Obviously, that’s far from ideal.
Now, Erik ten Hag has explained Zirkzee’s pre-season absence, while adding that a lack of game time is a ‘problem’ for the 23-year-old.
Check out what Erik ten Hag had to say on Joshua Zirkzee in full here:
“I think he is close, so that is one of the complications,” Ten Hag told the MEN. “We don’t have a pre-season with him so we need games to bring him.”
“If you see his background, in the last months he had an injury with Bologna. In the end, he made the selection for the Netherlands, so that helped him out of our first few weeks of pre-season.”
“So no games – that is his problem in this moment. But now it is his third week in training, you see him stepping up, his fitness levels are improving and he needs more minutes and we can’t do it in a friendly, it has to go into the league.”
It’s just a less than ideal start for Zirkzee. It’s never easy in a year where there’s a major international tournament and all it does is pile more pressure on any new signing.
United fans are expecting Zirkzee to be a decent source for goals during the coming campaign, though we have no idea how he’s going to cope in the Premier League at this point.
The fact that he’s also been dealing with injury somewhat recently is a concern. That could explain why Ten Hag has held off giving Zirkzee minutes in those friendly matches.
As things stand, I’d be highly surprised if Zirkzee starts against Fulham tonight. I’d honestly be pleasantly shocked if we see him come off the substitutes bench in that game, though he has to start somewhere, right?
Do you think we’ll see Joshua Zirkzee involved against Fulham tonight? Let us know your thoughts in the comment box below.
