£105k p/w Man Utd Star’s Career Takes New Twist After Amorim ‘Berated’ Him

Joshua Zirkzee endured a poor start to life at Manchester United under Erik ten Hag – but despite the Dutchman moving to Old Trafford to join his compatriot boss, it’s only under Ruben Amorim that he’s looked like a man reborn after two goals against Everton on Sunday.

Zirkzee, who joined from Bologna for £36.5million in the summer, had only scored one goal and registered two assists prior to the visit of Sean Dyche’s Toffees. Fans and pundits had questioned his signing, with Amorim even berating the star by stating that Zirkzee had to get himself into the box more instead of hanging back at the edge of the area. He looked to have combatted that in training by earning a start against Everton – and further proved his doubters wrong by scoring goals either side of half-time to down them in a 4-0 win.

Joshua Zirkzee Has Proved Man Utd Doubters Wrong

He was in fine form in all areas of the pitch on Sunday

It’s been a tricky start to life for the Dutchman in Manchester. A goal on his Premier League debut vs Fulham saw Zirkzee look to have made himself a fan favourite if he could continue his form, but just four starts in 11 games following that meant that he was out of Ten Hag’s plans almost instantly after joining.

Joshua Zirkzee’s Premier League statistics – Man Utd squad ranking
Stats	Output	Squad rank
Goals	3	=2nd
Assists	1	=3rd
Key Passes Per Game	0.6	=10th
Shots Per Game	1.2	=5th
Dribbles Per Game	0.4	10th
Match rating	6.50	15th

Rasmus Hojlund and Marcus Rashford have both been used as strikers this season, though Zirkzee has since been used as a second striker by Amorim – and that today has proved to be his best position.

Having been scorned by Amorim for not getting into the area, the £105,000-per-week forward burst his lungs to make an angle for Bruno Fernandes after the Portuguese midfielder stole the ball off Jarrad Branthwaite, sliding home with the goal gaping to register just his second United goal.

A superb pre-assist to set Amad Diallo running in the first few seconds of the second half saw Rashford turn home to put the game beyond doubt, before the Ivorian supplied Zirkzee after robbing James Tarkowski, to which he slid home with ease.

He’s certainly proved his manager wrong by getting into the vital areas of the pitch, and that has been rewarded with his brace. It also saw Hojlund remain an unused substitute, which could be a telling sign for the future.