The vibes are good again at Manchester United under Ruben Amorim, but he’s not letting down his stance of ruthlessness, as one player is set to find out.
Ruben Amorim oversaw the exit of players worth more than £100m in the summer after freezing six out, in particular, before even a ball was kicked in pre-season.
That was followed by the ruthless exit of Rasmus Hojlund, and now, the spectre of another exit looms large over the head of one player.
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Surprisingly, however, it’s a player everyone thought would have a breakout season this campaign, but it has all gone so horribly wrong.
Joshua Zirkzee in action during a first-team Manchester United training session at the Carrington training complex in 2025 in Manchester, England.
Photo by Manchester United/Manchester United
Ruben Amorim issues damning verdict on Joshua Zirkzee
Man Utd fans know the Amorim playbook by now. He will defend a player to death in public, but as soon as he goes down in his estimation, or he receives an upgrade, that player is done.
There is rarely any way back, and that seems to be the direction Joshua Zirkzee’s Man Utd career is heading into.
Zirkzee was tipped as the breakout star this season, particularly with two No. 10s joining and Rasmus Hojlund leaving.
However, Zirkzee’s pre-season injury set him back permanently as he plays catch-up to his fitter teammates while the team are in just one competition.
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Now, Manchester World reports that Zirkzee has failed to play catch-up, with Amorim deciding that Zirkzee lacks the physical presence to be the striker in his system.
Furthermore, with the transfer of two No. 10s, that space has closed for him as well, and if Anfield was any indication, he isn’t deemed worthy of being Benjamin Sesko’s alternative either.
As such, a transfer in the January window is “more likely than ever”, after approaches for him were blocked in the summer.
Zirkzee’s fate has taken a complete U-turn
As said above, Zirkzee was arguably the player Man Utd fans were the most hyped about among the current crop at Old Trafford.
After getting used to the physicality of the league to start with, Zirkzee put in some real statement displays, to the extent that his injury boost for the Europa League final was termed as massive.
His playmaking style of play from the striker position was seen as the natural glue to bring together two goalscoring attacking midfielders in Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha.
However, as seen in Andre Onana’s case, Amorim hasn’t taken kindly to players picking up an injury in pre-season.
When the rest of the team was gelling and taking in the patterns of play, Zirkzee was rehabbing and playing catch-up.
From Amorim having “big plans” for Zirkzee before the start of the season to the Dutchman looking likely to leave in January, it’s been a nightmarish U-turn for the fan favourite.