Aston Villa legend Gabby Agbonlahor has made his feelings clear on Manchester United star Joshua Zirkzee after the Dutch forward’s move to Old Trafford.
Joshua Zirkzee arrived at the Premier League club in July after Manchester United signed him from Serie A side Bologna in a deal worth £36.54m.
The 23-year-old Dutch attacker made an immediate first impression for the Red Devils after he scored the winner against Fulham at Old Trafford in August.
Following on from his Premier League debut against Fulham, Zirkzee has struggled in the final third and has been met with criticism over his goalscoring output.
The former Bologna striker has made 12 appearances for the Red Devils since his summer transfer and has scored only once and registered a single assist.
Agbonlahor on Zirkzee’s reputation
Joshua Zirkzee was in action for Manchester United on Thursday evening in the Europa League clash against Turkish side Fenerbahce.
The Netherlands international picked up the first assist of his United career after setting up Christian Eriksen for the Red Devils’ first-half opener.
However, Zirkzee failed to score in the 1-1 draw against Fenerbahce and was hooked off by Erik ten Hag in the second half for Rasmus Hojlund.
United manager Erik ten Hag had been keen for additional firepower for his frontline options in the summer after Anthony Martial left Old Trafford.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Gabby Agbonlahor was not convinced by the reputation that is surrounding Zirkzee and claimed that he has been “poor” this season.
“Everyone’s talking about Joshua Zirkzee, said he was an amazing player,” he said.
“He’s gone there, he can’t even control the ball. He’s got the time [to turn things around] but he’s been poor since the start of this season.”
Ten Hag on Man Utd result vs Fenerbahce
Ten Hag was unable to see United re-establish their lead over Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce side and had to settle for a point in Istanbul.
Speaking after the Europa League result, the 54-year-old Dutchman admitted that United passed up “opportunities” to secure all three points on their trip to Turkey.
“We missed some big opportunities, like the one where it was brilliant outplay on the right side and then the final pass from Diogo [Dalot] for Rashy [Marcus Rashford] wasn’t quite there,” he said.
“That should be a goal. It was fabulous outplay over the right side, good behind the defending line and then the pull-back – just the final pass wasn’t there in that moment and that’s a pity because, in that moment, if you go 2-1 up, you win the game.”
from United In Focus https://ift.tt/9QLocZ1