Roy Keane reveals first impressions of Joshua Zirkzee following Manchester United debut goal

Manchester United legend Roy Keane has revealed his opening impressions of Joshua Zirkzee following his debut goal against Fulham.

Manchester United kicked off the 2024/25 Premier League campaign with a 1-0 triumph over Fulham at Old Trafford.

The closely contested match was decided by a late goal from debutant Joshua Zirkzee, who latched onto Alejandro Garnacho‘s cross to guide the ball past Bernd Leno and clinch the win.

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Despite the victory, several nerve-wracking moments left United supporters uneasy. Erik ten Hag will undoubtedly be focused on refining his team’s play as they look to build on this solid start.

While these were broken down by pundits after the tie, United legend and former captain Roy Keane chose to focus on the positives, explaining that Zirkzee was “brilliant” with his finish to win The Reds the game on his debut.

“It was a brilliant finish,” Keane said on Sky Sports after the tie. “He was neat and tidy in the link-up. United need to punish teams more, but they were a threat, and to score on your debut is huge.”

Ten Hag also chimed in to speak about Zirkzee, explaining that the 23-year-old had some deficits, such as fitness, that needed to be built up, but that he has attributes that will help United.

“We had to look at every individual, and he had to build up some deficits,” said Ten Hag.

“He has some attributes we didn’t have, and straight away, he showed it. He is very good at his linking-up combinations – but he has to arrive in the box to score goals. That is what he did today.”

United’s next fixture will be against Brighton away from home next Saturday. They will then return to Old Trafford and host Liverpool on 1 September ahead of the international break.

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