INEOS brutally identify £105k-p/w Red as a ‘lost cause’ who’s going to have to ‘make way’

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·26. November 2024

INEOS brutally identify £105k-p/w Red as a ‘lost cause’ who’s going to have to ‘make way’

Manchester United chiefs are growing resigned to the fact that some of Erik ten Hag’s signings haven’t been anywhere near as effective as they’d initially hoped.

While most players will take some time to transition to the pace and demands of the Premier League, you’d perhaps of expected that they’d have settled at this stage of the season.

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Rasmus Hojlund, while still not the finished product, has again endured a slow start to the campaign after making his return from injury in September. He was made to wait until Boxing Day last year before opening his league account – four months after United agreed a £72 million package deal to sign him from Atalanta. This time around, he’s found the back of the net once – against Brentford in October – in his eight top-flight appearances.

His counterpart is struggling with stagnant form, too. Joshua Zirkzee got off to a dream start when he scored a winning goal on his debut in front of the Stretford End on opening day. Then, when he failed to add to his tally in his subsequent appearances, red flags started to show to the United faithful.

United chiefs left unconvinced by Zirkzee

(Photo by Eddie Keogh/Getty Images)

Zirkzee, 23, has featured in each of the side’s 12 league matches thus far – albeit only four times as a starter. Ruben Amorim’s decision to deploy Marcus Rashford at centre-forward over the weekend suggests both Hojlund and Zirkzee face more of a battle than they’d imagined for game time, especially given that the Englishman scored inside two minutes of kick-off at Portman Road.

There will presumably come a time when INEOS’ faith runs out in lacklustre signings, and Zirkzee is one who’s undoubtedly at risk of being offloaded without even making a name for himself at Old Trafford. According to a recent report by MEN, relayed by Football365, senior figures have privately conceded that the ex-Bologna frontman is a ‘lost cause’.

Eventually, someone will have to ‘make way’ for a ‘proven goalscorer’ to be acquired, and unless his situation drastically improves in the coming months, you’d expect it’d be Zirkzee.