Manchester United will reportedly look to keep hold of Joshua Zirkzee in the winter window, despite him facing an uphill battle to cement a prominent role.
The forward is still awaiting his first start of 2026/2027 after the opening eight matches.
Joshua Zirkzee: The state of play
(Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
Game time has been incredibly hard to come by for Zirkzee, meaning he is having to impress in the brief cameos he’s being granted off the bench.
In total, he has featured for just 101 minutes across all competitions, and was an unused substitute for the first three Premier League matches of the term.
On Saturday, he entered the fray in the 59th minute against Tottenham Hotspur, replacing injury returnee Amad Diallo.
Although Zirkzee was unable to notch his maiden goal contribution of the campaign, he was one of United’s only bright sparks on the night, with one passage of play proving particularly eye-catching.
Zirkzee 😮💨⭐️
United will rebuff winter approaches for Zirkzee
(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Flashscore has provided an update on the 25-year-old’s uncertain situation, stating that Michael Carrick ‘retains faith in him’.
That is perhaps shown by the fact that his appearance over the weekend was his longest of the season (31 minutes), with Carrick deciding to introduce the Dutchman to the action sooner than he had in recent weeks.
Even amidst his lack of outings, Netherlands boss Xavi Hernandez opted to call Zirkzee up to his squad over the break in place of sidelined Sunderland star Brian Brobbey.
Zirkzee went on to make his first appearance for his nation in almost two years, and rounded it off his second with a winning goal to extend the team’s unbeaten record under their new head coach.
The attacker is contracted to Old Trafford until June 2029, plus the option of an additional 12 months.
Leave a Reply
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Comment *
Name *
Email *
Notify me of follow-up comments by email.
Notify me of new posts by email.