Man Utd forward told he is ‘not good enough’ by international team manager after being left out of squad | OneFootball

Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman says Man Utd forward Joshua Zirkzee is “not good enough at the moment” to play for the national team.

Zirkzee signed for United from Bologna in the summer and has since scored three goals in 28 Premier League games.

He has established himself as a regular starter under boss Ruben Amorim of late but Koeman says he has not seen enough from the 23-year-old to call him up to his latest squad.

“He wasn’t in the preliminary selection because I don’t think he’s good enough at the moment,” the veteran manager told Studio Voetbal.

“Especially scanning when turning or passing often goes wrong.

“Yes, in principle, form and fitness are always leading, but that is not always possible.

“We have a lot of central defenders and midfielders, but we are somewhat limited up front.

“But even then, I still think that you have to earn your selection, and I think he doesn’t deserve that now, but that could be the case again in another period.”

Zirkzee did score in United’s first leg of their Europa League round of 16 clash with Real Sociedad last week and has netted six goals in 42 games in all competitions this season.

United boss Amorim has recently praised his forward, highlighting his recent improvement.

“I think some players are improving individually,” he said. “Josh, I think is improving, in changing, a little bit, the position.”

Preferred over Zirkzee in the Dutch preliminary squad include Premier League forwards Donyell Malen, Justin Kluivert and Cody Gakpo.

Corinthians striker Memphis Depay is also in the squad along with PSV Eindhoven’s Noa Lang and Ajax striker Brian Brobbey.

The Netherlands take on Spain in the quarter-finals of the Nations League later this month, with the first leg on 20 March followed by the second leg on 23 March.