Erik ten Hag ‘didn’t want to sign’ Joshua Zirkzee at Man United
Joshua Zirkzee joined the Red Devils from Bologna last season
Erik ten Hag was initially reluctant to sign Joshua Zirkzee, and his frustration grew when the Dutch forward arrived at Manchester United overweight.
Zirkzee joined the club in the summer from Bologna after a standout season in Italy, where he ranked among the leading scorers.
However, the transfer was driven by the club’s new hierarchy rather than Ten Hag’s endorsement.
They viewed Zirkzee as good value for money at £36.5million, but questions have already arisen regarding this recruitment decision.
Reports suggest that the 23-year-old arrived in Manchester a stone overweight and has struggled to shed the excess pounds.
According to The Sun, Ten Hag was displeased not only with Zirkzee being his second-choice signing but also with his poor physical condition upon arrival.
Despite this rocky start, Zirkzee made an impact on his debut, coming off the bench to score the winner in a 1-0 victory against Fulham.
However, that goal has proven to be a rare highlight, as he has failed to find the net in the subsequent 15 appearances across all competitions, most of which were as a substitute.
His last league start occurred at the end of September against Tottenham.
With Rasmus Hojlund now back in the team, Joshua Zirkzee has not seized the opportunities he has been given.
As Ruben Amorim prepares to evaluate United’s struggling attacking options, the team’s lack of goals remains a significant concern.
Manchester United have endured their worst-ever Premier League start, sitting in the bottom half of the table.
After 20 games, they have managed to score just nine times, leading Ten Hag to acknowledge that their efforts in the final third are simply not good enough.
He said: “Not scoring goals, not scoring goals enough.
“That’s the problem, the key area.
“We have to score more goals as a team.
“I think we have players across the team who have the ability to score. That’s clear.
“You see all the opportunities we are creating, we are not scoring enough.”
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