Manchester United have been urged to consider selling Joshua Zirkzee this summer, following his underwhelming performance against Sunderland. The Dutch forward has struggled to secure consistent playing time under manager Michael Carrick, but was given a rare start due to injuries to Benjamin Sesko and the lack of form from Bryan Mbeumo. Unfortunately, Zirkzee failed to make an impact, delivering a largely unremarkable display before being substituted after 65 minutes.
The 24-year-old has been linked with a move away from Old Trafford this summer, and former Sunderland player Micky Gray believes the Dutchman simply does not fit the profile of a Manchester United player. Speaking on talkSPORT, Gray said:
‘For the life of me I don’t know how Bryan Mbeumo has not come on at half time for Joshua Zirkzee. He’s just not a Man United player. I’m sorry to say it, but everything bounces off him as a striker. He’s a huge guy but for somebody who’s so big and tall and strong as he is, he’s just so weak.’
Gray continued:
‘I can’t believe he’s actually still playing for Manchester United. I think he’s certainly one of the players that you’re trying to move on in the summer.’
Paul Merson also believes a summer exit for Zirkzee is likely, but he highlighted the need for Manchester United to strengthen their squad ahead of next season. Merson commented on Sky Sports:
‘It wasn’t a good result. It wasn’t a good performance. What it was, was worrying for next season. This season, I said before, they are only playing once a week. Now, all of a sudden, you know, next season, they’re going to be in Champions League football and their squad looks very shallow.’
Merson added:
‘Mason Mount is playing centre midfield today with Mainoo. Zirkzee up front, sorry, but he’s not going to do it for Man United, in my opinion. So he’ll probably be moved on. So it just shows you where they are. So it’d be a worry for them. They need to invest in some players. Otherwise, they’ll be fighting for top four next season.’
He continued:
‘They’ve got to buy a centre midfield player, top, top draw central midfield player. The one that comes to mind is Elliot Anderson, but Anderson’s still young. They haven’t got a centre forward. I mean, Sesko plays up front, but they still need another one because Zirkzee, for me, just hasn’t got it, in my opinion. I think he’s a nice player, but I just don’t think this is the club for him. But they need to sort something out because I think next season, watching that today, and I don’t want to take anything away from Sunderland because I thought Sunderland were really, really good. But they will have to invest and I don’t know how it’ll work with a fair play rule, how much they can invest, but they need some players.’
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