Manchester United have confirmed the signing of Joshua Zirkzee on a five-year contract from Bologna, marking their first addition of the summer. Anticipation had been building among the Old Trafford supporters following reports of an agreement between the two clubs in recent days. Despite Zirkzee’s €40 million (£34m) release clause, United chose to pay €42.5m (£35.6m) to spread the payment over three years, which is something they have been known to doing in recent years.
The 23-year-old Dutch forward will join his compatriot manager Erik Ten Hag, who insisted on signing him, and will reportedly wear the iconic No.9 shirt for the upcoming pre-season tour and the 2024/2025 season. That was the number previously worn by Anthony Martial before his contract expired last month, so hopefully Zirkzee will have much more success with that number than the Frenchman had. Also, Zirkzee’s contract will keep him at the club until 2029, with an option for an additional year, another practice of Man United’s.
As a Netherlands international and a product of Bayern Munich’s academy, Zirkzee is expected to alleviate the scoring pressure on Rasmus Hojlund. Fans can look forward to a promising partnership and a potentially prolific season starting in August, but it will be interesting to see how will Zirkzee’s performances for Bologna in Serie A translate to the demands of Premier League football. Both Zirkzee and Hojlund came from Italian sides and the ones that are not part of the traditional greatest sides like Juventus or Inter.
Last season in Serie A, Zirkzee was part of a thrilling Thiago Motta side, which surprised everyone and qualified for Champions League football. However, the Dutchman’s goalscoring was not as hugely prolific as maybe some fans would have hoped for, as Zirkzee scored 11 goals and added five assists in 34 Serie A appearances. He also netted once and added two assists in three Coppa Italia matches. If anything, the 6 ft 4 in tall forward did manage to score against Inter, Milan, Roma, Atalanta, Lazio, Torino and Fiorentina, showing his abilities against the best sides in Italy.
His height could offer another attacking outlet to Ten Hag’s side, particularly if United manage to improve on their set-pieces. Last season, United scored nine goals from set-pieces, ranking them 15th in the Premier League, behind the likes of Brentford, Fulham and Bournemouth, and finishing staggering 11 goals behind league leaders Arsenal, with 20. This shows attacking set-pieces as another aspect where United could drastically improve and if Zirkzee plays any part in that, it will be another positive thing both for him and Ten Hag, who wanted him so badly at Old Trafford. It will be interesting to see how will Zirkzee work with Hojlund, how much will the manager play both of them or choose to leave one of them on the bench, but the fact is that neither the Dutchman nor the Dane came to United as prolific strikers. It’s now up to Ten Hag to help them become such strikers and lead United towards much better results.
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