Joshua Zirkzee will spend the 24-day break between Man Utd’s games at Carrington with Michael Carrick, where a bold experiment can revive a failed call by Erik ten Hag.
With seven games left to play this season, Joshua Zirkzee has a golden opportunity of being able to train under Michael Carrick when most of his teammates will be on international duty.
Zirkzee, along with Mason Mount, Luke Shaw, and Tyrell Malacia, are the four players who will be under Carrick’s care during this time.
Of those four, Carrick can experiment with Zirkzee at Carrington during this 24-day break to unleash an improved version of a tactical call once made by Erik ten Hag at Man Utd.
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Joshua Zirkzee juggles the ball during a warm-up against Brighton
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Michael Carrick must drill Joshua Zirkzee as an attacking midfielder
One look at Zirkzee would make most people think that he’s a brute centre-forward who thrives at bullying defenders and playing with his back to the goal.
In reality, he’s the “smallest” 6’4″ player around, in terms of how reticent he is about being a physical presence and doing that side of the game.
Instead, his best strengths are his silky dribbling, his penetrative passing, and the link-up play in close spaces.
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All those strengths are tailor-made for converting him into an attacking midfielder, especially in the Premier League.
The striker is always occupied by the physical centre-backs, but the No. 10 can operate in pockets of space and unlock defences with his brain instead of brawn.
Carrick doesn’t have a paucity of No. 10s, but these 24 days are as good a chance as any to unleash Zirkzee in a position where his strengths will be showcased, and his weaknesses will be hidden.
He must drill Zirkzee and refashion him into an attacking midfielder, because it will open up numerous options next season and provide the Dutchman with a new lease of life at Old Trafford.
If that idea seems too far-fetched, don’t forget that Erik ten Hag tried something like this with a much less technically proficient player.
Zirkzee will be the perfected version of Ten Hag’s Weghorst experiment
Moving strikers back to the No. 10 spot is not something new, but nobody thought Wout Weghorst would be a candidate for that move when Erik ten Hag did it.
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Ten Hag used Weghorst as a battering ram at the No. 10 spot, like the striker’s version of Marouane Fellaini.
He was tasked with making a nuisance of himself by harrying defenders, winning aerial balls in the final third, and playing simple passes to keep the play ticking.
He created space for the likes of Marcus Rashford in that role, but it was clear that Weghorst, despite his best and honest efforts, was a short-term solution to a systemic problem.
Zirkzee, in contrast, has all the tools, physical and technical, to actually be an attacking midfielder.
His eye for a pass is brilliant, and his dribbling skills off a standing start are silky. He could easily be the answer to breaking down low-blocks with his combination play.
If Weghorst was an emergency solution to a chronic problem, Zirkzee can be the final cherry on top of an already exciting attack.
He can be the perfected version of an idea Ten Hag tried to implement with a player ill-suited to it.
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