A former Manchester United star believes two young United players should be given another chance at the club.
Manchester United have identified a new striker as their priority position this summer transfer window. The current frontrunners to fill this need are Viktor Gyokeres and Liam Delap. Despite Ruben Amorim having signed Gyokeres at Sporting Lisbon, talks with Delap appear to be more advanced.
In order to bring in a striker like Liam Delap or any other players in other positions that Amorim needs, the club needs to be able to finance them. One way that United can boost their summer funds is by winning tonight’s Europa League final against Tottenham as it will secure them Champions League football.
The other option is to sell players. The club looks likely to move on some of the club’s forwards including Antony, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho. The trio are currently out on loan but to fund new players, United may look to give them permanent moves away from the club.
However, despite the need to fund these striker incomings through player sales, former United player Lee Sharpe has insisted that two strikers deserve another chance.
Hojlunds future
Sharpe, who played for the club between 1988-1996, was interviewed by The Peoples Person and was asked whether Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund have a future at the club ”I don’t think either of them can be let go. You can’t go into the season with just one centre-forward in Delap”.
Hojlund has had a difficult second season at United having only scored four goals in 31 Premier League games. The pressure of leading the line for United has clearly put a lot of pressure on the 22-year-old as after scoring a late equaliser against Bournemouth in April he posted that he “needed that”.
Sharpe then went on to say “Hojlund needs another season. I think he needs to play less games, in a team that is producing better performances and more chances for him. He needs a foil there…someone to share the load”.
The burden placed on Hojlund was meant to have been at least partially lifted this season following the signing of Joshua Zirkzee, although striker may not be the Dutchman’s best position.
Zirkzee’s new role
Although Sharpe believed United needed to have a number of striking options alongside the potential signing of Delap, he stated that this shouldn’t be Zirkzee’s favoured position. “I don’t think Zirkzee is a number nine. He can play there when needs be and I’m sure he will have games there when there are suspensions and injuries.”
Sharpe then went on to elaborate on where he sees Zirkee’s future: “Zirkzee is creative, he can go past people, he can score or create goals. I think he needs a run in the team. He’s got some real abilities, and I really hope he stays – I think he’s going to be amazing”.
This implementation of Zirkzee playing in a deeper position is something that was seen during the Dutchman’s resurgence in the squad. Following his low point of being booed off against Newcastle, Zirkzee was tried in one of Amorim’s two attacking midfield positions and his ability on the ball made him a fan favourite here.
Zirkzee and Hojlund are both very young and could still develop to become special players, whatever potion that may be in. Sharpe’s assessment of Delap not being enough on his own is sensible as if Amorim did solely rely on him, he may suffer in the same way mentality that Hojlund has.
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