Joshua Zirkzee came on for the final eight minutes of the tie against Grimsby and proved his worth in the little time he was given. Now, Amorim faces a conundrum on who to start up top against Burnley.
After a painful Carabao Cup exit to Grimsby on Wednesday, Ruben Amorim will be looking at his front three and theorising how the £200 million spent on attackers this window has only produced three on-field goals so far this season.
Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, who both started in the first two Premier League games, have only one goal between them so far, as Mbeumo netted against Grimsby this week.
The pair came with great expectation, and despite only one point in the opening two games, they both showed a lot of promise in this system.
Benjamin Sesko is another story, with many fans labelling him as lacklustre in the limited minutes he’s been given for the Reds so far, so maybe a switch-up in the attack is in order.
Zirkzee to play as a “9.5”
Joshua Zirkzee has had a troubled career in Manchester so far, having scored only three Premier League goals since signing for the club last summer.
Despite injuries, inconsistency has been a recurring issue for the Dutchman’s time at the Reds, as the 24-year-old has fallen out of contention in recent games.
That said, Zirkzee featured in the game against Grimsby, and despite receiving only eight minutes, he raised a few eyebrows. In an exclusive interview with UtdDistrict, former United winger Lee Sharpe said “fantastic” Zirkzee should be starting every week.
This leaves Amorim with a tricky decision to make ahead of the next Premier League game, which is a Saturday afternoon kick-off against Burnley. Zirkzee deserves a chance, but will likely be left on the bench again as Amorim favours his new £66 million striker.
Although we may see Zirkzee feature as one of Amorim’s notorious ‘tens’, as the Dutchman has said before, he does not see himself as solely a striker, but rather as using the player’s unique skillset as a ‘9.5’.
Mount would be dropped to accommodate Zirkzee
Amorim has favoured Mason Mount in particular in the three opening games, using him as a pressing No. 10, which has worked so far.
But the inclusion of a number nine leaves one of Mount, Cunha, and Mbeumo without a place in the starting lineup, and I believe it should be Mount who is dropped, simply because he lacks the goalscoring threat of the alternative pair.
Though, as previously mentioned, Zirkzee’s best role would be as one of the ‘tens’, which leaves the solution of playing Mbeumo up front and Cunha next to him;
With the necessary pressing ability and counter-attacking tendencies, this could work well in a crucial clash against Burnley.
Mbeumo should be more than comfortable playing here, as he featured up top for Brentford in the absence of Ivan Toney. This may be the key to unlocking United’s goalscoring threat.
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