Manchester United went big on forwards in the summer transfer window. The spending spree included buying Wolves star Matheus Cunha for £62.5m, Brentford's top goal scorer Bryan Mbuemo for £71m, and Slovenian striker Benjamin Sesko for £73.7m, with spending just shy of an eyewatering £200m.
The summer left the forward positions at Old Trafford rather crowded, resulting in Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee both being bumped down the pecking order. Hojlund ended up being the player to give way, being quickly moved on to Napoli on loan with a fairly secure buy option. Ruben Amorim reportedly chose to keep Zirkzee, as he foresaw a major role for the Netherlands striker. But that role has barely materialised.
It now looks like the strain is beginning to show, with The Daily Mail reporting that Zirkzee is eyeing a early January exit in pursuit of more consistent game time. Zirkzee is reportedly hoping for a place in the Netherlands World Cup squad next year, and is currently out of contention due to a lack of minutes. Clubs in Serie A, including Juventus and Como, among others, are reportedly keeping tabs, and are potentially ready to move if his circumstances remain the same.
So far this season, Joshua Zirkzee has played a total of 82 minutes for the club, and not started a single game all season. Ruben Amorim has trialled various tactics in Zirkzee's favoured position as the main striker. Benjamin Sesko now seems the main starter, but Amorim has played both Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbuemo in the role, and has even played Mason Mount there, in a slightly altered False 9 role.
The False 9 role is likely to favour Zirkzee more. Zirkzee's strengths are often with hold-up play and creation, but it seems his strengths as a big man are not enough to mitigate his weaknesses. Despite his 6ft 4in frame, Zirkzee is notoriously poor in the air, and with United now playing a lot of long balls, his success rate in aerial duels might not be high enough to hold down a consistent starting role ahead of aerial duel specialist Benjamin Sesko.
Manchester United's circumstances have hardly helped. No European football of any sort relinquishes the burden of 2 games a week on the main starters, but it also means that squad players, like Zirkzee, get less chances to impress. This has only been exacerbated by United's shock exit from the Carabao Cup at the hands of League Two Grimsby Town, which beyond being embarrassing for all involved has also diminished the chances that players lower in the pecking order will have to impress.
Despite the fact that Amorim seems to be making do without Zirkzee as a main fixture of the team, it would be terrible news to lose him. Zirkzee has a unique skillset that, when maximised, can be a huge advantage to the team he plays with. His link-up play, especially with midfielders running beyond him, is often fantastic, even in the hard-pressing, high-pace Premier League.
Zirkzee's future is far from decided; there's still a few months before the transfer window opens in January, and if an injury occurs to one of United's new front three, he could be in line for a much bigger role. He could also be used much more by Amorim come December when AFCON begins and United must do without Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo for potentially as long as a month.
Zirkzee joins Kobbie Mainoo as another squad player that feels left out by Ruben Amorim, and who potentially will begin pushing for a move primarily due to their wish to be involved in the World Cup next summer. In a squad that, in the long term, could be playing 60 games a season regularly, there should be space for both at Old Trafford beyond January, but in a World Cup year, players can force moves out of desperation. Only time will tell.