Manchester United striker Joshua Zirkzee admits he must "do better" amid Sesko and Watkins rumours
One of Manchester United’s underperforming strikers has conceded he has flattered to deceive so far at Old Trafford.
Joshua Zirkzee has freely admitted he and Rasmus Hojlund have not delivered upfront for Man United, having been signed in back-to-back summers for a total of £108.5m.
Between them, the two strikers managed just 17 goals last season, with seven of those coming in the Premier League. Their performances have frustrated manager Ruben Amorim since he arrived last November, who said there are plenty of other players at the club who can “score more” goals than his incument centre-forwards.
His musings have been echoed with transfer market activity this summer, with forwards Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo already arriving this summer, while the Red Devils target a new number nine before the window closes - having narrowed down their options to either Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig, or Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins.
Zirkzee, still recovering from a fresh injury picked up in pre-season, is welcoming the pressure, according to Manchester Evening News.
He said: “To be honest, I don’t read the news but if another striker were to come I guess it’s only good competition, so I’m not really worried. 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 can do better and have to do better. That’s all I can say about that.
“I’m very confident, everyone’s very confident. We’ve got competition so whichever position the coach needs me is the position I’ll play, if that’s a 10 or a striker it’s no different. The coach knows me well and knows exactly what to do and I’ve 100 per cent trust in the coach so I’m not worried about that.
“He [Amorim] wants goals so that’s what I have to work on. That’s what it all comes down to. I’m a different profile (of striker) but in the end if you’re up top you’re supposed to score goals, I’m not going to take that fact away.”
Zirkzee sustained a hamstring injury on April 13 that ruled him out for almost the rest of the season. He was rushed back for the Europa League final defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in Bilbao, where he replaced Hojlund in the second half.
The 24-year-old sustained a different injury in pre-season but has started training on-the-ball again at Man United's training base in Chicago.