Joshua Zirkzee is determined to fight for his place at Manchester United, even though the club have spent more than £130million on Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha this summer – and are still in the market for a new striker.
Zirkzee arrived from Bologna in a £36.5m deal a year ago but struggled in his first season at Old Trafford. The Dutchman scored on his debut against Fulham but ended with only seven goals from 49 appearances.
United have acted to solve their goal shortage by signing Mbeumo from Brentford and Cunha from Wolves, while whittling their striker search down to Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins and Benjamin Sesko of RB Leipzig.
But Zirkzee, 24, is ready to rise to the challenge and battle for a place – wherever that may be in Ruben Amorim’s team.
‘I’m very confident, everyone’s very confident,’ he said. ‘We’ve got competition, so whichever position the coach needs me is the position I’ll play – if that’s as a No 10 or a striker, it’s no different.
‘The coach knows me well and knows exactly what to do and I’ve got 100 percent trust in the coach so I’m not worried about that.
Joshua Zirkzee is determined to fight for his place at Manchester United this season
New signings Bryan Mbeumo (left) and Matheus Cunha (right) make the competition intense
Zirkzee says he knows Ruben Amorim wants him to add more goals to his game
‘I think it’s part of being at this club [competition]. If another striker were to come, I guess it’s only good competition, so I’m not really worried.
‘They [Cunha and Mbeumo ] are two great players. We’ve seen that in training and we’ve seen that last season as well. We’re for the team and that’s what we’re all about. We just want the team to be good.
‘Everything is for the team, there’s no selfishness here, that’s not my mantra. If it were to help the team, then great.
‘I’m not here to decide what’s fair and unfair, I just know that me and Rasmus [Hojlund] can do better and have to do better. That’s all I can say about that.
‘The manager wants goals, so that’s what I have to work on. That’s what it all comes down to. In the end, if you’re up top, you’re supposed to score goals. I’m not going to take that fact away.’
Zirkzee showed strength of character to bounce back from his lowest point of the season in January when a section of fans cheered as he was substituted with United 2-0 down to Newcastle at Old Trafford.
He was visibly emotional heading down the tunnel but emerged as United’s hero just two weeks later when he scored the winning penalty in a FA Cup shootout at Arsenal.
Zirkzee praised his teammates for their support, saying: ‘The guys are always there for me. Bruno [Fernandes], of course, is the captain.
‘We’ve got a great group and we’re all there for each other, so I think every individual wants the best for all of us. In that case, I can lean on a lot of guys in the team.’
