Alex Keble looks at the qualities new signing Joshua Zirkzee will bring to Manchester United.
Player analysis - Joshua Zirkzee (Man Utd)
The first thing to know about Zirkzee is that he isn’t much like any other modern striker - and certainly not like anyone plying their trade in the Premier League.
Fashion is cyclical, or at least that’s how it seems in the Premier League, as sleek and pacy on-the-shoulder No 9s come back to the fore, from Erling Haaland to Darwin Nunez to Ollie Watkins to, most pertinently, Rasmus Hojlund.
The Premier League’s new trend for fast transitions has made the striker who runs in behind all the rage again.
That is not Zirkzee’s game, which is precisely why Man Utd - looking to combine fast transitions with Erik ten Hag’s Ajax-like principles - have signed the 23-year-old.
Zirkzee’s Ronaldinho-esque style fits Man Utd
What has attracted United first and foremost is Zirkzee’s explosive flair and slaloming dexterity, attributes that conform to the club's historic view of itself as attacking entertainers who put dazzling players front and centre.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Dimitar Berbatov, Wayne Rooney, Eric Cantona - Man Utd has a rich history with maverick No 9s and 10s, and while it is far too early in Zirkzee’s career to compare him favourably to these United stars, his signing does suggest INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe understand that legacy.
Perhaps we ought not to put pressure on Zirkzee to emulate past greats, although his former manager at Bologna, Thiago Motta, saw no issue doing just that.
“He said his idols are Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Gabriel Batistuta, who are two excellent players, but, seeing him day-to-day, he reminds me of the Ronaldinho I played with at Barcelona,” Motta told Sky Sport Italia in February.
The thought of signing the next Ronaldinho is self-evidently worth getting excited about, but what Motta said next is telling.
“But I cannot compare him to anyone. He is just Joshua, and he is special.”
Zirkzee doesn’t fit in with the current trend of run-in-behind No 9s. He doesn’t really fit in with any of the old trends, either.
An intelligent ball-carrying "false nine"
It took Zirkzee a long time to settle at Bologna, but he came of age in 2023/24 when Motta - whose possession-centric view of football borrows much from his years as a player at Barcelona - moulded Zirkzee into a "false nine".
Zirkzee’s capacity to play sharp passes around the corner or release through-balls in tight spaces give him an elegance well-suited to his reimagining under Motta as a "nine-and-a-half".
He completed seven through-balls in Serie A last season, which was the second-highest among strikers in the division, behind Lisandro Martinez on 12, and more than every Man Utd player besides Kobbie Mainoo and Bruno Fernandes, who produced eight and 30 respectively.
To illustrate just how deep he comes to link the play, often excelling with his back to goal before spinning a defender, Zirkzee averaged 44.8 touches per 90 minutes in Serie A last season. Only four Premier League centre-forwards - Matheus Cunha (45.0), Gabriel Jesus (47.7), Bryan Mbeumo (47.9), and Joao Pedro (52.7) - averaged more.
What makes Zirkzee particularly special, however, is his Ronaldinho-like tendency to play with flair through the middle of the pitch, which inevitably means carrying the ball and dribbling past defenders.
He averaged 26.5 ball carries per 90 minutes in Serie A last season, a figure that only four Premier League strikers bettered - Cunha (26.5), Cody Gakpo (30.0), Mbeumo (30.6), and Joao Pedro (34.7).
Zirkzee also attempted 4.17 take-ons per 90 minutes, which again was fewer than only four Premier League strikers - David Datro Fofana (4.18), Gabriel Jesus (4.57), Joao Pedro (4.71), and Cunha (5.17).
Zirkzee v PL strikers 23/24
| Stat | Total | Rank compared to PL strikers |
|---|---|---|
| Touches/90 | 44.8 | 5th |
| Ball carries/90 | 26.5 | 5th |
| Take-ons attempts/90 | 4.17 | 5th |
There are many facets to Zirkzee's game - he is a good finisher with both feet, tall and powerful at 6ft 3in, and surprisingly fluid in his movement.
But his unusual combination of ball-carrying and link-up play are undoubtedly his key traits - and they represent a major upgrade on Hojlund.
Zirkzee v Hojlund 23/24
| Stat/90 | Hojlund | Zirkzee |
|---|---|---|
| Shots | 1.58 | 2.74 |
| Percentage of shots on target | 52.6% | 34.5% |
| Goals & assists | 12 | 15 |
| Touches | 25.5 | 44.8 |
| Passes | 12.7 | 23.1 |
| Progressive passes | 1.38 | 2.8 |
| Ball carries | 14.8 | 26.5 |
Zirkzee can make Ten Hag’s tactics more Ajax-like
As such a clear counterpoint to Hojlund, signing Zirkzee is arguably an admission that things must change at Old Trafford.
But that does not mean a total rewrite. Zirkzee’s unique blend of ball-carrying and "false nine" lay-offs means he is a neat midpoint for Ten Hag, a manager attempting to walk the line between those Ajax-like principles and the “direct” attacking football he sees as Man Utd’s DNA.
“I came here with my philosophy, based on possession, but I wanted to combine it with the DNA of Manchester United, the players and their characters,” Ten Hag said in November 2023.
“Last year, we saw what that was. We played very good football. This season, the philosophy is not different, only I want to emphasise more on going direct. We want to press from different blocks and then go direct.”
Zirkzee can fuse those two things together.
Dropping deep can help recompress the pitch
Let’s start with Zirkzee’s classic "false nine" traits. His willingness to come short, to play smart lay-offs in midfield and involve himself in the game should help Man Utd compress space between the lines and fix that wide-open central midfield.
Along with pushing up the defensive line, which new signings at the back ought to do, a more typically Barcelona or Ajax-like centre-forward should stitch things together.
The touch and technique of a "No 10" will surely give United more balance, evolving the side towards the tactical principles that got Ten Hag the job.
By contrast, having Hojlund forever lurking on the offside line only further stretched the team when in possession, leading to an over-directness that meant gaping holes uncovered in midfield when the ball was turned over and attacks quickly funnelled back the other way.
Ball-carrying and link-play will help Man Utd's transitions
This does not mean Man Utd will lose that “direct” and fast-attacking energy. Zirkzee’s ball-carrying qualities, and his skilful jinks through the thirds, ought to complement his team-mates in moments when urgency is required following an attacking transition.
Currently, when a counter-attacking opportunity arises at the feet of Hojlund with his back to goal, the ball ends up where it came from. By contrast, Zirkzee has a rare knack for wriggling clear and slipping his team-mates into the final third.
You don’t have to watch Zirkzee for long to see how his powerful running, half-turn flair and quick thinking in possession will be useful in releasing Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford down either flank.
That feels very much aligned with the elusive Man Utd DNA that is so often talked about.
Can "raw" Zirkzee be more prolific?
All of this should be caveated by the basic fact that Zirkzee’s rise has been sharp, leaving us with only one year of evidence to draw from, not unlike Nicolas Jackson at Chelsea.
Case in point, Zirkzee only won his first senior Netherlands cap in the UEFA EURO 2024 quarter-final victory over Turkey. He is raw and untested, riding a sudden upward swing after a slow start to his career.
He scored only two Serie A goals in 2022/23, which left many unsure about Zirkzee’s future until Motta helped him blossom into a hard-working player and leading figure in the dressing room.
How he copes with the pressure of being a Man Utd striker is impossible to know. He was the up-and-comer at Bologna during a wave of success under Motta. Things could hardly be more different at United following last season’s record-low Premier League finish.
Psychology aside, it is goalscoring that Zirkzee most needs to work on.
Eleven goals and four assists last season was a good return, but the step up to Premier League level will be a big challenge.
He recently admitted a need to be “more selfish in front of goal” and certainly a cut-throat attitude in the penalty area is required of a Man Utd No 9.
Then again, perhaps we are nit-picking. Zirkzee’s 11 league goals was better than any Man Utd player in the Premier League last season, and in a team more direct and transition-based than Bologna, his figures may naturally rise.
And indeed, far more prominent than any weaknesses is Zirkzee’s flair and ingenuity.
He is a thrilling footballer to watch; a creative forward both well-suited to developing Ten Hag’s tactical model and very much in keeping with Man Utd’s tradition of swaggering, skilful goalscorers.
Man Utd fans will love him.
