Manchester United have completed their first big signing of the 2024 summer transfer window, and it’s a pretty exciting one.
Highly rated striker Joshua Zirkzee, fresh off the back of firing Bologna to the UEFA Champions League, has put pen to paper at Old Trafford, with the Red Devils forking out just over £35m for his services.
So… is Zirkzee any good?
Well, that’s what we enlisted 90min’s esteemed Italian editorial team of Alessandro Eremiti, Matteo Baldini and Marco Deiana to find out.
We sat down with our trio of Serie A experts to ask them the questions which are currently on the tip of Man Utd’s fans’ tongues.
After playing second fiddle to Marko Arnautovic during the 2022/23 season, Zirkzee was given a starting role in 2023/24 and became one of the club’s key players.
The Dutch forward starred as Bologna remarkably secured qualification for the UEFA Champions League for the first time since the mid-60s.
In terms of numbers: 11 goals (31 shots on target), four assists, 43 key passes with a pass accuracy of 77.9% and 11 big chances created. While those are impressive numbers, he also struggled at times when trying to get past defenders on his own accord – completing a measly 39.5% of his dribbles during the season.
Although a number nine, Zirkzee’s key strength isn’t finishing but rather how he’s able to create for his teammates.
The Dutch forward should be considered to be more of a playmaker than an out-and-out striker, as he loves to drop deep to be in possession as much as possible. When in possession, he then has the vision, technical ability and the strength to hold up the ball and find teammates who are breaking in behind defences.
Thanks to his ability on the ball, he is also able to play from the left flank when needed too, making a very versatile option for Erik ten Hag.
He’s not a striker who will score you 15-20 goals a season… at least for now. He simply doesn’t have that ‘killer instinct’ that a more predatory number nine has.
As mentioned above, his dibbling ability leaves a lot to be desired too. That will need to improve dramatically if he wants to succeed in the Premier League.
In terms of numbers we’d say no, however if we have £100 in our pockets and you give us the option to watch Atalanta 22/23 with Hojlund or Bologna 23/24 with Zirkzee, we’d always go with Bologna and Zirkzee.
He’s is a more beautiful player to watch and links up better with his teammates than Hojlund does. Hojlund is a much better finisher though.
He reminds us a little of Amauri during his time at Palermo thanks to his movement on and off the ball.
Perhaps a more attractive comparison for Man Utd fans would be one to early career Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He is a bit less raw and a bit more technical than Ibrahimovic was during his time at Ajax and Juventus though which is promising.
Considering how much Man Utd spent on Hojlund, we’d say this is an absolute bargain.
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