“I am so happy…” Erik ten Hag rubbishes striker claim amid Joshua Zirkzee Man United debut update

Erik ten Hag has rubbished a claim surrounding Manchester United and Zlatan Ibrahimovic as he prepares his club to face Fulham in the Premier League.

After a tough penalty shootout loss to Manchester City in the 2024 Community Shield, Manchester United are now gearing up for the opening match of the 2024/25 season.

With last season’s eighth-place Premier League finish still fresh, Erik ten Hag is determined to push his squad towards a top-four finish and secure a return to Champions League football.

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United will kick off their campaign on Friday, hosting Fulham at Old Trafford, where three of ten Hag’s new signings could make their debuts. Many have been wondering whether Joshua Zirkzee would be handed his debut from the start against Fulham, but Ten Hag has cast doubt over this.

“I think he is close, so that is one of the complications,” Ten Hag said when asked what Zirkzee needs to do to start. “We didn’t have a pre-season with him, so we need games to bring him.

“If you see his background, in the last months, he had an injury with Bologna; in the end, he made the selection for the Netherlands, so that had him out of our first few weeks of pre-season, so no games — that is his problem at this moment.

“But now it is his third week in training, you see him stepping up, his fitness levels are improving, and he needs more minutes, and we can’t do it in a friendly; it has to go into the league.”

Further, the Dutchman was asked if he thinks the club have not had a top class striker since Zlatan Ibrahimovic, to which Ten Hag explains that he feels the club currently have two players who can grow into that role.

“I think we have two young strikers who have the potential to grow into top-class strikers in Højlund and Zirkzee,” Ten Hag explained.

Further, he said: “I am so happy I have those choices, that fits for all units, all positions, we need a number of players going into the season.

“We think about 60 games so it will be a survival of the fittest, we need squad depth. You have to make choices, and you need rotation. No player can play all the games but also internal competition, and you also need some weapons to use tactically.

“I am very happy we have those numbers and we have quality players so we can make those choices. We also have quality players with different abilities and that is good to have them in the squad.”

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