Arsenal
Aston Villa
Chelsea
Crystal Palace
Everton
Fulham
Leeds United
Liverpool
Manchester City
Manchester United
Newcastle United
Nottingham Forest
Southampton
Tottenham Hotspur
West Ham United
Wolverhampton Wanderers
News
ESPN pundit already has big doubts about one of Erik ten Hag’s summer signings at Manchester United
Manchester United have endured an underwhelming start to the 2024-25 campaign as the pressure starts to mount on Erik ten Hag.
The Dutchman is in his third season at Old Trafford but Manchester United still don’t have a discernible style of play and blow hot and cold far too often for anyone’s liking.
Despite spending around £180m on five new recruits this summer, the Red Devils have flattered to deceive and are 11th in the Premier League, while their first UEFA Europa League game of the season ended in a 1-1 draw against FC Twente.
Speaking after the game, Steve Nicol delivered a grim verdict on Manchester United’s attack and singled out one of their summer signings for criticism.
Steve Nicol clearly not a fan of Manchester United attacker Joshua Zirkzee
Joshua Zirkzee has scored just once since signing for the club from Bologna for and drew a blank once again against the Eredivisie side at Old Trafford.
Nicol believes the Dutchman is not an out-and-out goalscorer as he laid bare Manchester United’s problems in attack.
“Zirkzee doesn’t look like a centre forward and certainly doesn’t look like an accomplished goal scorer,” said Nicol on ESPN UK’s YouTube channel.
“Rashford has been off form for nearly two years. On the right-hand side, you’ve got a young kid [Amad Diallo] who is still learning the trade.
“And Bruno – who we know is capable – but when was the last time we saw it? So we shouldn’t be surprised that even though they have the ball and get forward, they don’t score enough goals or create chances.”
Zirkzee needs more time to get into the groove
As Nicol pointed out, the 23-year-old is not a full-fledged number-nine but his link-up play and technical ability could add a different dimension to Manchester United’s attack.
However, Zirkzee has just joined the club, so the onus should be on the likes of Rashford, Fernandes and the others to lead the way.
Manchester United are simply not a well-coached team at the moment and their environment is far from ideal for Zirkzee – or any other summer signing – to really flourish and perform consistently.