Joshua Zirkzee has endured a torrid start to life at Manchester United, but Robert Lewandowski has advised new manager Ruben Amorim on how to get the best out of him
Joshua Zirkzee has endured a torrid start to life at Manchester United, but Robert Lewandowski has advised new manager Ruben Amorim on how to get the best out of him Joshua Zirkzee has endured a torrid start to life at Manchester United, but Robert Lewandowski has advised new manager Ruben Amorim on how to get the best out of him
Ruben Amorim has been told by Barcelona star Robert Lewandowski how to solve his £36million Joshua Zirkzee problem.
Amorim, who left Sporting CP to join Manchester United this month, will take charge of his first match this weekend against Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich Town. The Portuguese inherits several problems left behind by his predecessor Erik ten Hag which he must quickly find solutions to, including the Zirkzee dilemma up front.
Zirkzee, who arrived from Bologna in the summer for a hefty £36million price tag and signed a five-year deal, started strong with a debut goal against Fulham but has since endured a 16-game dry spell. The 23-year-old Dutchman’s dream move has turned sour and he’s found it increasingly difficult to earn game time.
And with the 6ft4in forward hoping his fortunes will change under the new manager, Lewandowski – who once shared the front line with Zirkzee at Bayern Munich – has offered Amorim advice on how to get the best out of him. The legendary forward highlighted Zirkzee’s strengths aside from scoring, such as his ability to link up with team-mates when he has players making runs beyond him.
Lewandowski said: “He plays amazing with the back to the goal. He can hold the ball. He can play with one touch or two touches and bring the wingers to behind his back.
“He has also good finishing in the box because he’s big. He’s young, but he’s big and I think he can keep the ball, hold the ball very, very strong. Of course, he needs a little bit of time.”
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The Poland international added: “It’s normal if you join this kind of club, a big club with a huge expectation. He scored a lot of goals in Serie A. For him, that was the first season that he was involved as a typical striker. But you know that now the time for Manchester is not so brilliant.
“But he’s the striker. He can really help team-mates and the team if you know how to use him. Also, he can score the goals. I think he’s not a typical goal-scoring striker. He’s also the player who can help the team-mates to create the space for them.”
With a fresh face at the helm, Zirkzee has been handed the chance to change his fortunes by making an impression on Amorim, who is said to reward hard work with game time. However, players signed by previous managers can sometimes struggle to assert themselves and fit into a new coach’s ideas, meaning Zirkzee must adapt swiftly or risk losing patience from the outset.
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