Joshua Zirkzee feels Premier League football will be difficult this season as Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim favors a summer signing over the Dutch player.
Manchester United have reportedly offered West Ham a January contract for disreputable forward Joshua Zirkzee. The Dutch international only moved to Old Trafford in the summer of 2024, but after spending another summer there he will be sidelined.
Manager Ruben Amorim brought in Matheus Cunha, Brian Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko over the summer, but this new trio and a fit-again Mason Mount are the preferred front three. Fellow frontmen Rasmus Højlund and Marcus Rashford have already been released by Amorim, initially on loan, with Zirksee set to join next.
As Mirror Football revealed last week, the former Bologna star wants to leave. He has not started a game in any competition this season and has played a total of 23 minutes in United’s last six league games.
According to reports on the continent, Zirksee’s desire is to remain in the Premier League. This could make West Ham an attractive candidate for players looking to earn a World Cup spot with the Dutch national team.
The Euro 2024 semi-finalists need four points from their final two qualifying matches against Lithuania and Poland to secure a spot in the World Cup. Zirksee was part of his country’s Euro squad and scored his first senior international goal in the UEFA Nations League in September 2024, but did not feature in any World Cup qualifiers.
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West Ham sit 19th in the Premier League table after nine games, but new manager Nuno Espirito Santo is yet to enter the transfer window after replacing Graham Potter outside the summer window. The Hammers have scored just seven goals in the league this season, with only Nottingham Forest having fewer.
The London club spent more than £100m in the summer, but their only new strikers were free agent Callum Wilson and Scottish youngster Daniel Cummings. Wilson only played under Nuno as a substitute in the first half against Leeds on Friday, while Cummings is yet to make his senior debut.
United manager Amorim admitted earlier this month that some players were lacking playing time, but stopped short of guaranteeing either Zilkie or Koby Mainu would leave in January. “It’s normal and we know that at our club everything is so noisy and you have to know the news and the players aren’t playing,” he said.
“They want to play. Like you said, there’s a World Cup. There’s an agent who always listens to the players talking. So I understand that, but these are our players and we all need to have a good season.”
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