Erik ten Hag’s prediction for Joshua Zirkzee at Manchester United has only shown that Benjamin Sesko was the type of striker needed at Old Trafford a long time ago.
Joshua Zirkzee is playing (a distant) second fiddle to Benjamin Sesko in the Red Devils pecking order amid his struggles at Old Trafford since his signing in 2024.
The 24-year-old Dutch forward left Serie A side Bologna and the Red Devils agreed a deal worth £36.54m to bring him to the Premier League club under Erik ten Hag.
Zirkzee arrived as a potential challenger to Rasmus Hojlund for the Manchester United striking role, but the Netherlands star failed to ever outshine his counterpart.
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Michael Carrick and Joshua Zirkzee during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Crystal Palace at Old Trafford in Manchester, England, in 2026.
Photo by Mark Cosgrove/News Images/NurPhoto via Getty Images
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Erik ten Hag’s backing of Joshua Zirkzee’s improvement at Man Utd raises questions after Benjamin Sesko’s impact so far
Joshua Zirkzee ended his debut season at Old Trafford with disappointing numbers on the board, as the Dutchman netted only seven times in 49 appearances.
The ex-Bologna striker scored three times in 32 Premier League matches amid Erik ten Hag being sacked as Manchester United manager in the 2024-25 season.
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Even before Zirkzee finished the previous campaign with his disappointing goalscoring returns, former United manager Ten Hag threw his backing behind him.
Ten Hag even went as far as to ‘promise’ United fans that a “young” and “creative” talent like Zirkzee could only “improve” with the right “support” in place at the club.
When asked if Zirkzee could become a prolific goalscoring machine for United, he said in 2024: “Yes, I do.
“And he is young and you see his capabilities, he is a very good link-up player, he is creative, he is creating chances, but to be fair, he has his moments towards the goal […].”
As per the Independent, Ten Hag later added: “He has some very good attributes and some attributes he has to improve and he needs our support [on] how to improve.”
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Benjamin Sesko’s numbers alone at Man Utd in his debut season show the shortcomings of Joshua Zirkzee
Zirkzee’s second season at Old Trafford has fallen even flatter than his first amid links with a return to Italy after his struggles continued beyond Ten Hag’s reign.
The Netherlands international has found the back of the net twice and picked up a single assist in 20 matches across all competitions in the 2025-26 season.
Zirkzee has not hit double digits in his goalscoring tally — currently sat at nine for Man Utd — after a total of 69 matches for the Red Devils since his 2024 move.
Benjamin Sesko, on the other hand, hit the goalscoring double-digit mark on Sunday after he climbed off the bench and scored in Man Utd’s 3-1 win over Aston Villa.
The United summer signing had a bumpy start to life at Old Trafford, but Sesko looks like he’s scoring for fun at the moment under interim boss Michael Carrick.
Whether it is from the bench or the starting XI under Michael Carrick, Sesko has delivered the promise — and expectations — that were held around Zirkzee.
Sesko has scored 10 times in 27 matches in his debut season and the 22-year-old striker has shown the serious shortcomings of Ten Hag’s prediction for Zirkzee.
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