Manchester United man told he made ‘a huge mistake’ this summer after rejecting Serie A move

Manchester United’s new signing, Joshua Zirkzee, has been told he made a mistake by not accepting a Serie A transfer earlier this summer.

In July 2024, Manchester United proudly announced that they had secured the services of Dutch forward Joshua Zirkzee from Bologna on a five-year contract for a fee of around £36 million.

Erik ten Hag‘s men had beaten out Serie A giants AC Milan to his signature by offering Bologna slightly over his £34 million release clause to spread the payment out over multiple summers.

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Zirkzee then joined his new side in August and had an immediate impact. After coming on as a substitute, he scored on his debut to hand United their first win of the season in a 1-0 victory over Fulham.

However, this is his only goal for the club eight games later. While Zirkzee has been getting to know his teammates, United has crumbled into a disaster at the start of the season, which has left fans calling for Ten Hag to be sacked.

With Rasmus Højlund returning to the side and scoring on his first start back from injury, Zirkzee is expected to play a substitute role for the next few games.

Speaking to Italian outlet La Gazzetta dello Sport, Dutch legendary midfielder Ruud Gullit has now claimed that Zirkzee made a big mistake in joining United and should have accepted a move to AC Milan instead.

“Zirkzee would have done better to say yes to Milan instead of moving to England to Manchester United,” Gullit opined.

“He knew Serie A, and for his development, another couple of seasons in this tournament would have been very useful, but in a top club like Milan.

“Now, instead, he is in a club that has many problems and that does not facilitate his growth. His numbers are not very exciting,” Gullit continued.

Further, Gullet did then admit that he hoped Zirkzee could turn his form around after not scoring for several fixtures. “I hope he can turn the tide after an inevitable period of settling in. He is good, there is no doubt about that, but it is hard to do well at United in such a historical moment.”

Although Zirkzee has yet to score since his debut goal, fans have been impressed with his overall style of football. The player always looks to get involved and gets the ball to his feet when he can.

However, others have demanded that the 23-year-old become more active in the box, an instinct that many hope Ruud van Nistelrooy can coach into the forward.

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