Joshua Zirkzee image 11

Joshua Zirkzee Netherlands flag

2024-25 Performances

View full 2024-25 profile

5.0 Season Average Rating
Appearances
20
Goals
3
Assists
2
Yellow cards
1
Wednesday at Stoke said:
Another #10 and to make matters worse, he's still playing at Serie A pace. On the bright side, we can recoup what we paid from Milan next summer.
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We dont sell players quickly, we keep them until they are worth peanuts.

He is not suited to the league. He is also not top class. He is decent under the right team and a slower league, but nowhere near good enough.
 
Hit a rocky patch but I think he's still trying to work out what his role in the team is - he wasn't bought to be an immediate starter so let's give him a bit of time to develop
 
bosnian_red said:
He lost confidence extremely quickly. Looked very sharp in his overall play the first few games, now is pretty much useless, heavy and slow out there.
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His personality is totally opposite to Hojlund. Still the great Bergkamp also struggled in his first year as well.
He just needs to work hard and be available to help take the load off Hojlund. Sub appearances and occasional European games for his first season. He will adapt with more experience.
 
OverratedOpinion said:
I won't lie and say I've watched him play much but I certainly have questions whether we took a look at the lad Dortmund brought for 15 million. 30 goals in 30 games last season and now 7 goals in 7 games since his move.
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Serhou Guirassy... He would have been perfect for us, good finisher, pacey can hold it and just the profile we should have gone for.
 
He is very similar in many aspects to Kai Havertz. He is a false 9, a Deeplying Forward who comes into midfield to tie the game together and needs the wingers/nr 8s to roam forward from his play.
 
Remember the geese said:
No, we couldn't.
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He had a £54m/€65m buy out clause this summer which had gone up significantly due to his end of season form, he decided to stay with RedBull as they gave him a huge pay rise.

My in laws are all slovenian and it’s a very small country, this was the biggest story this summer in their country and many thought he would go to Arsenal, Chelsea or United.

https://www.goal.com/en-gb/lists/be...rigger-cut-price-transfer/bltb147c5215e26ead5
 
think he’s been good in 1 game so far this season. Think it was the Southampton game. Needs to show a lot more to compete with Hojlund.
 
Looks sloppy and often slow in his reaction. With the right work ethics both can be improved
 
jderbyshire said:
Come on, are we writing him off already??
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No, however if we could trade him for £20-30m for Sesco with RedBull that would be a fantastic deal, I don’t think he’s nearly anywhere near as bad as the CAF think however he needs an elite Fitness and Sprint coach to get him ready for the EPL.
 
Woziak said:
He had a £54m/€65m buy out clause this summer which had gone up significantly due to his end of season form, he decided to stay with RedBull as they gave him a huge pay rise.

My in laws are all slovenian and it’s a very small country, this was the biggest story this summer in their country and many thought he would go to Arsenal, Chelsea or United.

https://www.goal.com/en-gb/lists/be...rigger-cut-price-transfer/bltb147c5215e26ead5
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But he didn't move anywhere, so we couldn't get him. He decided to reject Arsenal and potentially other clubs to stay where he is, so it wasn't a case of just stumping up a bit more cash and he'd have been ours.
 
Remember the geese said:
But he didn't move anywhere, so we couldn't get him. He decided to reject Arsenal and potentially other clubs to stay where he is, so it wasn't a case of just stumping up a bit more cash and he'd have been ours.
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There’s more to it than that he had a buy out, no club activated it so he took the Red Bull offer, a buy out is simply that you put up the cash upfront one instalment player leaves, for the record United have been tracking him for 2-3 years and personally as some one who watches slovenian football closer than others he was just as awful as Zirkzee for Slovenia in the Euros.

We need a proven, experienced number 9 who knows the PL while Rasmus, Eithan and Chido Develop. We should be all over bringing back Danny wellbeck on an 18 month contract, I don’t think Zirkzee will ever be the answer, Benjamin Sesco might be, however we would have to do that deal this summer when we simply have more pressing areas like Right Wing, Left back and CM to replace first.
 
Interestingly if you search the player his weight is listed at anything from 84kg, 89kg to 97kg and he’s of course 6’4 an absolute unit of a man.

He looks heavy boned and I would suggest that if he plays at 93 to 97kgs that weight is far too heavy!

An elite PL striker even with his frame should be no more than 80- 84kg to play in the EPL, you can’t carry that much weight in the EPL twisting and turning, with so many short sprints. He probably needs a special dietician and a specific fitness coach.
 
Red00012 said:
Ya well that’s totally not true. They’re nothing alike . He was bought as a replacement for Martial
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Look at how Ten Hag utilized Weggy in the hole. If Bruno wasnt on the pitch I'm willing to bet we'd line up with Hojlund and Zirkzee
 
I am not allowed to post media, but go to Youtube and search for: "Zirkzee miss Ajax".

I have never seen a clip sum up a footballer like that before.

Abysmal player; Bebe levels of awfulness almost.
 
Red00012 said:
Ya well that’s totally not true. They’re nothing alike . He was bought as a replacement for Martial
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He is the perfect replacement for Martial.
That's not meant as a compliment.
 
The weird obsession this forum has with labeling Manchester United players as fat/too heavy . So many dieticians and fitness experts here. Lucky for them, the Manchester United squad always has a player whom they can use as a subject to show their expertise on.

Going back to the SAF Era, there was Anderson who was fat. He was followed by fat Wayne Rooney. Rooney was followed up by Fattie Luke Shaw. Shaw isnt on the pitch enough to really be a subject anymore so Casemiro held the role of designated fattie for a while. Now there is Zirkzee, who seems to be the next fattie/out of shape player in line.

Forgot about Lukaku. I think he fits in (oh wait he wont, he is fat too) between Shaw and Casemiro.
 
TrailMonkey said:
He might look half decent in a possession based team who can patiently knock the ball around in the opposition’s third. We’re not anything like that. A lot of our attacks come from countering, which doesn’t yet suit his game because he too slow to find the right position.

Can’t compare his shooting ability etc with Garnacho. Zirkzee is no better than Wehorst in and around the box, possibly due to confidence or maybe an inability to adapt to this level and intensity. Garnacho is an assertive player who always tries to do something progressive, attacking, creative etc. He makes mistakes for sure, and some days things don’t work out for him. But he never shies from the ball and he’s always willing to have a go. He backs himself to make things happen, not through arrogance, but through self belief. I’d have Garnacho all day long. Can’t say the same for Zirkzee.
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His best performance was in that game vs Palace where we absolutely dominated the first half but couldn't score. He looked like someone who could fit in a possession based system.
 
Stadjer said:
The weird obsession this forum has with labeling Manchester United players as fat/too heavy . So many dieticians and fitness experts here. Lucky for them, the Manchester United squad always has a player whom they can use as a subject to show their expertise on.

Going back to the SAF Era, there was Anderson who was fat. He was followed by fat Wayne Rooney. Rooney was followed up by Fattie Luke Shaw. Shaw isnt on the pitch enough to really be a subject anymore so Casemiro held the role of designated fattie for a while. Now there is Zirkzee, who seems to be the next fattie/out of shape player in line.

Forgot about Lukaku. I think he fits in (oh wait he wont, he is fat too) between Shaw and Casemiro.
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Found the fattie
 
Stadjer said:
The weird obsession this forum has with labeling Manchester United players as fat/too heavy . So many dieticians and fitness experts here. Lucky for them, the Manchester United squad always has a player whom they can use as a subject to show their expertise on.

Going back to the SAF Era, there was Anderson who was fat. He was followed by fat Wayne Rooney. Rooney was followed up by Fattie Luke Shaw. Shaw isnt on the pitch enough to really be a subject anymore so Casemiro held the role of designated fattie for a while. Now there is Zirkzee, who seems to be the next fattie/out of shape player in line.

Forgot about Lukaku. I think he fits in (oh wait he wont, he is fat too) between Shaw and Casemiro.
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So true. Its as if the club wont analyse and look at this information themselves, good job the caf exists otherwise the club would have no chance in identifying players who arent the right body shape.
 
JezChan said:
I can't believe the amount of impatience and negative comments towards Zirkzee after today's game.

"He's a striker, so he should score goals."

"Game's too fast for him."

"I'd rather have Weghorst."

He's barely 2 months into transitioning to play in the fastest, most physical league in the world, within what has been for the past 2 months a largely dysfuncitonal attacking unit, not to mention being 23, so still developing as a player (keeping in mind not every player develops at the same rates/ages).

Give him time. Give him patience. Let him learn and grow and adapt - expecting him to hit the ground running from day one and be banging in goals and linking up with Rashford, Bruno, Garnacho (all 3 of whom have been criticised for the deficiencies in link-up play) is like expecting to move into a brand new house and feel 100% at home with great relationships with your neighbours 2 months after moving into a brand new country.

A small proportion of players can make that transition so quickly. Most take longer.
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To some extent yes, but not every player needs a year to get settled in.

And we often give players way too much allowance, which is why we end up with the Martial types staying 3 years beyond their decent contribution has gone.
 
I thought when he came on his general play was quite nice, there was a time when he was around the halfway line flicked it to his right which started an attack for us and some other nice touches.

It was a shame he couldn't connect with that chance but luckily it didn't matter. Can definitely see a player in him.
 
I really don't see it with Zirkzee at all. Some of his linkup is tidy but that's not enough at this level. Seems like a slightly better version of Donny Van De Beek so far and that's not a good thing.
 
It is worrying that he is not in the necessary shape to compete in the PL - looks slow and even a bit overweight. Physical preparation should be one of the easiest things for a professional athlete but maybe we have found another lemon who thinks he can rely on talent alone without the hard work.
 
Stadjer said:
The weird obsession this forum has with labeling Manchester United players as fat/too heavy . So many dieticians and fitness experts here. Lucky for them, the Manchester United squad always has a player whom they can use as a subject to show their expertise on.

Going back to the SAF Era, there was Anderson who was fat. He was followed by fat Wayne Rooney. Rooney was followed up by Fattie Luke Shaw. Shaw isnt on the pitch enough to really be a subject anymore so Casemiro held the role of designated fattie for a while. Now there is Zirkzee, who seems to be the next fattie/out of shape player in line.

Forgot about Lukaku. I think he fits in (oh wait he wont, he is fat too) between Shaw and Casemiro.
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You’ve mentioned 6 players over a 15 year span, that’s hardly an obsession is it. Some of these players were also noticeably heavier at the points they were criticised. Anderson was mocked by the squad for what he ate and Lukaku was put on a dietary plan by Inter when he left us for them.

You watch 22 players on the pitch each week, most of these players were rightly singled out for a reason.

Regarding Zirkzee I’m not necessarily sure if it’s a weight thing but he looks extremely cunbersome and flat footed so far.
 
How do we keep ending up with these 'link players' that don't offer anything else.

Imagine him and Mount starting games together, link play and flicks galore. Pointless
 
Cannot understand why we buy him. Isn't there a scout report? Example, top speed, header won, chances created, goal attempts, shot on target, work rate and etc? Obviously, speeding is lacking is a major issue in EPL. Just look at Antony, he doesn't have a pace for EPL and now he is a 80m winger that is a backup. Just look at the new right wing of City, he has the pace to show the LB the ball and can easily take it pass and cross with his right foot. Ineos bought the wrong target unless the tactics and formation is change to accommodate Zirkzee else he is another bench warmer at United.
 
Crazy how quick people go here, it worries me.

Not looked great so far but shown touches of class - I think he could do with upping his reaction time and looking a bit more alert and showing for the ball but he's barely had any time, I'm willing to be patient but I'd like to know the long term plan with him as I don't think it works with Bruno in the team as they occupy similar positions.
 
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