Zirkzee's Revival Still Leaves Man Utd Craving Missing Piece
Joshua Zirkzee had to be patient for his Manchester United opportunity under Ruben Amorim this season, but the Dutch striker has experienced an incredible transformation in just seven days after a January transfer window exit had previously seemed inevitable.
Before last Monday evening's unexpected starting role against Everton—necessitated by the unavailability of Benjamin Šeško and Matheus Cunha—Zirkzee's entire campaign had consisted of merely 90 minutes distributed across infrequent substitute appearances. More often than not, he remained on the substitutes' bench.
Following 90 minutes at Old Trafford, during which Zirkzee was prevented from scoring twice only by Jordan Pickford's outstanding goalkeeping—including what could be considered the Premier League's finest save this season—he retained his starting position for Sunday's away fixture at Crystal Palace and completed another full match.
In an instant, he has tripled his seasonal playing time across just two matches and has delivered a meaningful contribution. After coming so near to scoring against Everton, Zirkzee struck home a composed equalizer against Palace, enabling him to showcase the 'machine gun' celebration inspired by Gabriel Batistuta in a Premier League context for the first time in exactly 364 days.
Speaking to TNT Sports afterward, Zirkzee emphasized that representing Manchester United requires "you have to perform," while recognizing the psychological impact of such an extended goalless period—there were indeed instances during the latter half of last season when he appeared lacking in self-belief. This was also a player who faced harsh criticism from his own supporters during a particularly difficult moment last December.
"When you don't find the net for an extended period, it can affect you mentally, but I'm surrounded by excellent teammates, wonderful people, and we support each other daily. They made the process quite manageable for me."
He continued: "[The goal] was simply a reward I believe for patience, dedication, attempting to maintain consistency, and I'm just grateful to them, the manager too, staff, everyone. [It's] a positive atmosphere."
Consistency Key for Zirkzee
Benjamin Šeško (Brentford, Sunderland), Bryan Mbeumo (Liverpool, Brighton) and Casemiro (Brighton, Nottingham Forest) represent the only United players to find the net in consecutive Premier League matches this season. Nobody has yet achieved goals in three straight games.
This situation with Zirkzee has occurred previously. His double against Everton in Amorim's inaugural home Premier League match on December 1, 2024, appeared to be a pivotal moment, yet he failed to score again domestically until this past weekend.
Football revolves around confidence, and with Šeško potentially unavailable until mid-December, the chance presents itself to Zirkzee immediately if he's prepared to seize it. One senses he must do so, honestly speaking, if he wishes to continue as a Manchester United player beyond this campaign—a January exit surely impossible despite contrary speculation.
Man Utd Missing Key Ingredient
United require a reliable presence in attack, providing goals consistently each week.
The hallmark of most successful teams—not necessarily exceptional ones—is possessing a dependable goalscorer. Someone who experiences a prolific scoring run once or twice per season at minimum, driving their team to crucial victories. In 2025–26, Brentford possess Igor Thiago (11 in 13 matches), Brighton have Danny Welbeck (7 in 13) and Crystal Palace feature Jean-Philippe Mateta (7 in 13). United's leading scorer is Mbeumo with five goals, yet he doesn't operate as the primary striker.
Throughout Sir Alex Ferguson's legendary 27-year tenure, United served as English football's benchmark that every team aspired to defeat. They possessed exceptional players who drove their achievements, but they also boasted exceptional goalscorers. Wayne Rooney, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Andy Cole, Robin van Persie, Dimitar Berbatov, Ole Gunnar Solskjær and Dwight Yorke numbered among the legends who terrorized Premier League defenses.
Zirkzee, now 24, has experienced one prolific scoring campaign in his career (16 goals in 38 league appearances), though that occurred in the Belgian Pro League with Anderlecht. His transfer to Old Trafford followed a season of scoring 11 in 34 matches for Bologna. These statistics won't significantly impact results over an entire season.
This explains why United must pursue another signing to support Šeško, United's preferred striker, for the future. Zirkzee can only contribute so much, despite current improvements, and this consideration must influence Amorim and the club's recruitment department before they invest all their resources exclusively in central midfield reinforcements.