Manchester United registered a 3-2 victory over Bodo/Glimt in Thursday’s Europa League clash.
Manager Ruben Amorim made several changes to the starting line-up as promised.
There were a number of stand-out performances, but one player’s absence came as a surprise.
Joshua Zirkzee was the subject of slight criticism from Amorim after he was unable to get into the box against Ipswich Town to capitalise on crosses.
Against Bodo/Glimt, the Dutchman was one of three outfield players including Christian Eriksen and Kobbie Mainoo, who were left on the bench.
Mainoo’s absence was not surprising, considering he has just returned after a long injury lay-off.
We can say the same about Eriksen, who had a poor outing at Ipswich. The Dane is expected to leave United when his contract expires next summer.
Zirkzee only arrived at United from Bologna earlier this year and it has been reported that Amorim has already decided to part ways with his services.
The Dutchman was once described as a ‘powerful‘ striker by Bayern Munich’s academy director Holger Seitz, but he has struggled to adapt to the higher intensity and physicality of the Premier League.
He has fallen well down the selection order under Amorim.
It appears Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund are the front-runners for the striker’s role. Both players have made an instant impact with goals to their name.
Amorim’s decision to snub Zirkzee is a big statement and his United career could be in jeopardy if the Portuguese maintains the same stance going forward.
Zirkzee has been heavily linked with a return to Serie A with Juventus in January. The final decision could depend on Amorim’s assessment in the coming weeks.
Article written by Sri Aswin .
This article was written by .
