Ruben Amorim has already made his case after Joshua Zirkzee looked disappointed during Manchester United’s 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa. The Dutch striker came on as a substitute in the defeat, but might have expected him to come on sooner.
United were left behind just before half-time after Morgan Rodgers’ exquisite curling attack during a visit to Villa Park. Matheus Cunha equalized before the interval, but Rodgers scored his second goal just before the hour mark to seal all three points for Unai Emery’s side. Captain Bruno Fernandes was a casualty in the loss, appearing to injure his hamstring in the opening game, but continued to play. Zirkzee was one of the candidates to be substituted at half-time, but United legend Gary Neville expressed surprise to see Lisandro Martinez brought on in his place.
Neville observed that Amorim appeared to be unhappy that Zirkzee was not brought on at half-time, although he had previously provided a rationale for a similar selection in the previous campaign, although he was eventually brought on in the 73rd minute.
Commenting on Sky Sports, Neville expressed his surprise at the inclusion of Martinez in place of Zirkzee, who had struggled for minutes under Amorim.
“I’m surprised because I thought Zirksee, who is close to Fernandes’ position, would play,” he said, before adding, “He (Zirksee) doesn’t look very happy.”
However, a similar situation occurred last season. Zirksee was absent from the game against Newcastle in December 2024 after becoming visibly upset after United were 2-0 down after 32 minutes.
Amorim justified his decision after the match, saying: “You have to think about the team. The players are suffering during the match. We needed another midfielder. It was difficult for me to do that. I talked to Joshua about it.”
“I’m always thinking about the team. It was important for him to come out in that moment. I know Josh is a really good bloke. When he goes into the tunnel, I understand some players go in a bad direction, but he’s a really good bloke. This is life. We’ll support Josh and keep going. Newcastle were better than Manchester United. They weren’t better than Josh.”
Neville also weighed in on the controversial substitution, just as he did when Zirksee was not included against Villa. He commented, “I know he’s making a lot of money, but there’s a guy there who’s basically being cheered on by the home fans and that’s cruel.”
Despite Amorim making decisions surrounding Zirksee in the best interest of the team, rumors of a link with the Dutchman’s move persist. Zirksee only joined from Bologna in July 2024 for £36.5 million, but could return to Italy. Corriere dello Sport report that Roma are interested in Zilke and that the only obstacle to a move is a disagreement over the transfer fee.
