Joshua Zirkzee has endured a tough start to life at Manchester United.
The Netherlands international was jeered off the pitch by Manchester United fans during a 2-0 defeat against Newcastle at Old Trafford in December, after Ruben Amorim opted to withdraw him in just the 33rd minute.
Zirkzee also missed a penalty in the FA Cup against Fulham, which cost Manchester United a place in the quarter-final.
Not only that, but the Manchester United No.11 has scored just three goals in 28 Premier League appearances – following a £36.5m move from Bologna back in July 2024.
The noise at Old Trafford for Joshua Zirkzee’s debut goal 🔊
That goal helped @ManUtd start the season with a win against Fulham!pic.twitter.com/Y17aN7uZdk
— Premier League (@premierleague) August 16, 2024
However – in fairness to Joshua Zirkzee – an issue he had at Anderlecht while working under the management of Vincent Kompany has certainly improved.
What Vincent Kompany said about Joshua Zirkzee’s attitude
While the Dutchman was on loan from Bayern Munich at Anderlecht for the 2021/22 campaign, he felt the wrath of the Belgian, who was furious by the poor attitude on show.
Kompany yelled: “Listen, no misunderstanding, there’s one f****** side of me that you haven’t f****** seen boys. Number one – whether we play with three, four, five or six, it’s my f****** decision, and I take the responsibility if we lose and if we don’t perform well.
“Second thing, Zirk (Zirkzee), this is the last time I talk about your attitude. You come off, I don’t need a f****** smile but I need an attitude that’s perfect. You were not good, just like all the other ones. I could have taken anyone off without anyone complaining.”
What Manchester United expert thinks of Joshua Zirkzee
While the 23-year-old still needs to better his goalscoring numbers, his attitude has seemed to improve at Manchester United, compared to his time with Anderlecht.
Discussing the matter exclusively with TBR Football, Manchester United expert Jonny Maze said: “Zirkzee is becoming quite well liked at United. He always gives his all and shows good body language – especially since Amorim has arrived.”
Seemingly, that rollocking from Kompany had the desired impact on the man born in Schiedam.
Hopefully, Zirkzee – who Juventus like – can keep improving under Amorim.
