'Difficult situation' at Man Utd: Koeman worried about Zirkzee

Tom Weber

• Updated: 11 Oct 2024 14:29 BST
• 3 min read

Netherlands head coach Ronald Koeman has admitted that he is worried about Joshua Zirkzee at Manchester United.

The Dutch striker moved to Old Trafford in the summer off the back of a brilliant season at Bologna in which he helped the Serie A side qualify for the Champions League for the first time in decades.

Still, when Man Utd signed him, there were some questions over the move. Erik ten Hag had repeatedly - and publically - made it clear that he wanted a reliable No.9 and this has never really been Zirkzee's game.

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Though he is built like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the 23-year-old has never been anywhere near as prolific as the Swede with whom he has often been compared. On the contrary, Zirkzee thrives as more of a withdrawn striker when he can combine with teammates.

This is not Ten Hag's style and, so far, Zirkzee has struggled to have an impact at Man Utd.

Koeman on Zirkzee

Despite his dip in form, Zirkzee has been called up by Ronald Koeman to the Netherlands squad for games against Hungary and Germany. The Barcelona legend previously stated that he wants to have one undisputed starting striker, but he has now been forced to admit that this is challenging given that Zirkee is currently in a 'difficult situation.'

"It depends on the performances at the clubs, the matches they have played and that's what you look at," Koeman noted. "Maybe I said a bit too eagerly that I wanted a number one in the striker position. You can use one or the other in matches.

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"In this situation, that is a possibility. That is why I am not committing myself to one person. This could be multiple international periods. It is also a development.

"Zirkzee has made a move to United, it's a difficult situation there, and [Rasmus] Hojlund is fit and he therefore played less." Zirkzee has not started for Man Utd since getting hooked by Ten Hag at half-time in the disastrous Tottenham game that ended 3-0 in Spurs favour.