Why Joshua Zirkzee Doesn’t Fit Manchester United’s Tactical Setup

Embattled Manchester United Coach Erik Ten Hag had the support of the Manchester United hierarchy in the 2024 summer transfer window. The club helped Ten Hag sign players who are similar to his impressive team at Ajax. One of those players is center forward Joshua Zirkzee. 

Originally, Ten Hag liked to play a possessive game, which required him to overload areas on the pitch to have numerical superiority, and Zirkzee, on paper, suited that play because he didn't think like a center forward. Zirkzee is like Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He is tall, fast, and much more than just a striker. He could create for his teammates and link up with other players. Zirkzee likes to drop deep to create space for wingers or attacking midfielders.

His dropping deep helps to provide that numerical superiority Manchester United need to keep the ball. Except, United don't want to keep the ball and at the same time, they want to have the ball. What do I mean? 

United play with a 4-2-3-1 formation. They want to be more direct and press high up the pitch, but they also don't want to give the ball away cheaply to opponents by playing long balls from the back to the striker like a direct team should. Rather than load the ball to the front, Ten Hag wants his team to be on the front foot and start play from the back. This would have suited Zirkzee, except that how United play means that there are gaps in the midfield. They signed Manuel Ugarte to plug the gaps, but he hasn't had much luck so far. 

So, now Zirkzee can't play to his greatest strengths in helping United keep the ball by dropping deep and linking up play because United themselves find it hard to retain the ball. Now, because he drops deep, United find themselves without a striker in the box when they need him the most. This is quite the mess for United.

So, is everything hopeless for Zirkzee? Not quite. Without a doubt, Joshua Zirkzee is a talented forward with a bright future, but he may not be the ideal fit for Manchester United’s current tactical needs. However, should United sack Ten Hag, Zirkzee could blossom. 

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