I am honestly finding it a little tough to find a nailed-on starting position for the forward. Even as a squad player, if (and it's a BIG if) United sign the players they want, I don't see Zirkzee being a player that the manager will look to on his bench to try and influence the game, at least not one of the first names.
We all know Zirkzee has his qualities. The player has showcased this mainly from the turn of the year until his hamstring injury against Newcastle in April that forced his season to end prematurely.
While he did make a miraculous recovery in time for the waste of a Europa League final despite everyone (including the manager) saying that he will be out for the season, the 23 year old played just 19 minutes against Spurs and was then out of the final game of the season just a few days later.
A lot of those qualities though, were shown in a position that we didn't actually buy him for: the attacking midfield role.
The former Bayern Munich man had previously stated that he is no true no 9 but rather more a 10 or 9.5 yet he wasn't brought in for those positions. However, you cannot doubt that whenever he has played as one of the CAMs, Zirkzee has been a breath of fresh air and displayed something that made us think that perhaps he does fit into Amorim's side even if not for what he was originally signed for.
Yet with their being so many attacking midfielders at our disposal and potentially even more (Bryan Mbeumo although it seems that kingdom will come before he does), does Zirkzee have a place in this side?
Attacking Midfield
Matheus Cunha was one of the league's best as a CAM in his final season at Wolves. With 15 goals and 6 assists in 33 Premier League matches, it made him a standout for a side that finished 16th. He caught the attention of many and obviously made the right choice by signing for United 😁.
He often played on the left of Vitor Pereira's two no 10s which is where he would play for us. I mean, you ain't gonna sign one of the best CAMs in the PL for £62.5m only to play him at right centre-back.
So that takes one of the CAM positions.
I believe Amorim wants to play Bruno as a no 8. He's used the skipper in that position more than as a 10 which is where I think the captain is at his best.
In his time at United, Amorim has used Bruno as a no 8 on 20-25 occasions whereas playing him further forward as that no 10, the manager has used him on just 10-15 occasions. This indicates he deems his fellow Portuguese as part of his midfield pivot instead of his front three.
I don't think this will necessarily work because when playing the better teams (and from last season, almost everyone is better than us), this will fail. Bruno is too erratic and il-disciplined often leaving his partner isolated which results in them being overrun.
Casemiro or Ugarte who will be the other midfielder (unless we pull a madness in the window), cannot hold down the fort themselves, especially not in the Premier League.
Playing deeper also takes away that creativity from the captain as he is more creative than anyone. He is the only one along with Amad who can make things happen. If we get Mbeumo, this deeper role could work (in a creativity sense at least) but as of now, I'd rather it be Cunha and Bruno as the two no 10s.
What is United's best midfield?
Amad is a player who's actually been superb wherever he's played. I would want to see him at RWB as it allows for us to have more attackers in the side however, the only issue is Amad isn't the best defensively.
Going forward though, he is up there with Bruno in terms of the quality and ability to produce.
If he does happen to play out wide, he can be too isolated and out of the game. Opposition's have also learnt to double or even triple up on him so as to remove his threat.
Played more central and it can make it more difficult for teams to do this and also gets Amad closer to goal. He had 11 goals and 10 assists last season even though he missed a good chunk due to injury.
He's a shout to play as a no 10 as well.
Then there are the two unknowns: Kobbie Mainoo and Mason Mount.
I don't think anyone can definitively say what Mainoo's best role is in Amorim's 3-4-2-1. I doubt he himself knows his best position.
We've seen the youngster deployed in several positions including striker at one point ahead of both Hojlund and Zirkzee (which must have been a kick to the nuts to them both) yet we've never seen the best of Mainoo in any position.
Amorim has had complaints about him as a no 8 so that probably rules out that position. As a no 10, his quick feet and composure have shown that he is perhaps a bit more adept at playing such a role than anywhere deeper or further.
As for Mount, I feel like we still don't know why he was bought. It's been two years since the former Chelsea man joined United although we've hardly seen him due to injuries, and have yet to see the best of him.
In his 46 matches (yes just 46!), the only time where Mount has displayed any of the qualities of his Chelsea version was in his substitute appearance against Bilbao in the second leg at Old Trafford. He came on and changed the game wtih his brace with that second strike being a stunner.
We all hoped that this would kickstart his career at United and while he did score in the following game at Brentford, there was nothing in the following few three matches to suggest he was getting back to his best.
With all that being said, Amorim does seem to favor the 26 year old as every time he speaks about time, there is an undeniable glow on the manager's face.
Mount's best role has been as a no 10 preferrably on the left but also on the right.
This could indicate that either one of Mainoo or Mount could play as that second no 10?
Striker
Zirkzee isn't a no 9. The player himself stated as much last season: “I’m not a real No.9."
So that rules him out playing up top.
Unfortunately though, Hojlund doesn't seem to be a striker as well which is why United are in desperate need of a proper, experienced centre-forward.
With this Zirkzee comment, it also means that currently, Amorim has just one actual no 9 in his arsenal (Hojlund). Unless we're going to see a massive glow up in Chido Obi and him pushing his fellow Dane for that striker position, it will be just Hojlund.
We have no striker is what I'm saying.
The manager could get radical and start Zirkzee as the 'no 9' but as he prefers to drop deeper, receive the ball into feet, turn, run and make things happen in that way, this could allow for either one or both of the two no 10s which we hope will be Cunha and Mbeumo, to run past Zirkzee whenever the Dutchman does drop deeper.
As Cunha and Mbeumo are quite prolific up front (Mbeumo scored 20 goals in the league last seas putting him in 4th spot), this tactic in theory, could work.
However, when looking at Ruben Amorim's time as a manager, he does prefer a proper striker as his no 9. None of this false 9, 9.5 crap.
This is why I believe we saw quite a lot of Hojlund last season even when Zirkzee was fit and people were calling for alternatives like Mainoo, Bruno or even Harry Maguire to play up top over the 22 year old Dane.
Amorim never did and if both Hojlund and Zirkzee played, it was the Dutchman behind his fellow striker instead of one for the other.
Again, this indicates even further that the manager will rather opt for a main goal scorer instead of anything else which reduces Zirkzee's chances of starting up top.
There were rumors not so long ago that United were willing to include Zirkzee in some sort of swap with Napoli for Victor Osimhen, a proven, elite, out-and-out no 9, which is what we need.
The issues with the Nigerian is his high wage demands.
But this type of swap deal could work. We remove a player who doesn't really fit in in this side nor is a guaranteed starter whilst bringing in someone that we truly need in that centre-forward position.
This move could work for Zirkzee as well. While Antonio Conte has preferred a 4-3-3 at Napoli, we all know he has used the 3-4-3/3-4-2-1 as his main formation at Chelsea, Inter and Juventus to which he saw a lot of success.
He does revert to either of these three-at-the-back formations at times and if he does so, Zirkzee could play as one of the two no 10s there.
Kevin de Bruyne could be used in the midfield pivot with Scott McTominay and Zirkzee ahead of him behind the striker of Romelu Lukaku.
Whether or not Conte will actually do this if they sign Zirkzee remains to be seen but it's an option and one that would allow Zirkzee more game time if he did leave United.
Final Thoughts
I like Zirkzee. I think he has qualities but if we were like Liverpool and can allow for young up-and-comers with potential, I would be okay with him staying. As we're not in that position, Zirkzee at the moment makes no sense.
This isn't an attack on the player but one more of concern for where he fits in. He's only been here a year and is young so there's enough time to develop but once more, we're not in that position to be taking risks. We've done so for many years and it has yielded us nothing.
Unless Amorim gets radical and tries to do something different or we don't sign players, I fail to see where Zirkzee actually fits in as part of our strongest XI.
And even if he isn't starting, the bench will be loaded too and I don't think he'll be first to come on should the need arise.
His versatility along with the adaptibility of this formation means there is a chance but I don't think we can afford to be taking more risks. We need ready-made players like Cunha to come in to the side now.
Remember, our CEO 'firmly believes' that United can win the league by 2028 and unless players like Zirkzee and others light it up in the next year or two, I doubt we'll lift PL no 21 any time soon.
So this begs that question again of, do we actually need Joshua Zirkzee?
Joshua Zirkzee: Creator: Carl Recine | Credit: Getty Images Copyright: 2024 Getty Images via Goal