Joshua Zirkzee’s recent reported decision to leave Manchester United could be a blessing for one of Manchester United’s exciting young stars.
Joshua Zirkzee joined Manchester United for a £36 million transfer fee from Bologna in the 2024 summer transfer window to provide competition for the then-first-choice striker, Rasmus Højlund.
Despite scoring on his debut, the Dutchman found it hard to adapt to life at United after not having a pre-season. However, once Rúben Amorim replaced Erik ten Hag, he worked his way into the starting XI.
The 24-year-old went on to start 21 Premier League fixtures in a row for Amorim before a hamstring injury against Newcastle in April halted all momentum, with the player only returning in the penultimate game of the campaign before suffering another injury over the summer.
Zirkzee has made just four appearances this season, all from the bench, and according to recent reports, is now looking to leave the club in January as he wants to have a shot at playing in the 2026 World Cup with the Netherlands and needs game time to achieve this goal.
Zirkzee’s departure could be a blessing for Obi
If Zirkzee were to leave United in January, that would mean new signing Benjamin Šeško is the only senior striker in the men’s first-team squad. However, it has already been demonstrated that both Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo can also play this position if needed, too.
But, if Zirkzee were to depart in the January window, this would allow 17-year-old striker Chido Obi a genuine shot back in the first-team squad. Obi made eight appearances towards the back end of United’s campaign last season, becoming their youngest-ever Premier League starter.
However, with no European or Carabao Cup football this season, Obi’s place in the first team has been nonexistent, leading to a lack of minutes training with Amorim’s squad and, consequently, a lack of game time in Red.
Should Zirkzee leave, this would free up the perfect space for Obi to step into the Dutchman’s role, playing second fiddle to Šeško, allowing him the perfect chance to learn from his seniors and possibly secure minutes once the FA Cup returns to Old Trafford in January.
Obi working on two new attributes
So far this season, Obi has been mainly involved with United’s U21s, which is a physical step up compared to the U18s and will no doubt be fantastic for his development.
The young striker was not called up to Denmark’s most recent U21s squad despite being involved previously, and boss Lars Knudsen has explained that this is chiefly because the “exciting” starlet is remaining at Carrington to continue developing his game, including two key attributes.
“Chido is at United right now and working on some things purely sportingly that he needs to put into his game. He sometimes starts in the U21 team,” the Denmark U21s boss explained to Danish media late last month.
“We have a close dialogue both with Chido and with the club about where he is in terms of development.
“We follow him closely and we watch all his minutes, and we also do the same with all the other players we have in the squad and around the team.”
Asked what aspects he is working on with United, Knudsen said: “Among other things, he needs to participate a little more in some team-related things. He is a good goalscorer, but he could also score many specific types of goals.
“And there may also be some other types of goals that he needs to become good at scoring. So there are some different things he needs to put into his game. He clearly has some top skills and he has exciting potential, there is no doubt about that.”
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