Man Utd player promises to ‘do something about’ dire situation under Carrick

A forgotten Manchester United player whose situation at Old Trafford has never been worse has promised to “do something about” the predicament he finds himself in.

The arrival of Michael Carrick has benefitted most at at Man Utd, though in the case of Joshua Zirkzee, what was already a dismal situation has become even more dire.

Zirkzee has never been a regular starter since arriving from Bologna in the summer of 2024. Nevertheless, opportunities came now and again under former managers, and the Dutchman was used regularly off the bench.

But following the signing of Matheus Cunha who has been selected to lead the line in each of United’s five league games this season, Zirkzee is now little more than an afterthought.

It’s Benjamin Sesko who is usually called upon from the bench, leaving Zirkzee as an unused substitute three times already. His minutes total in the league so far this season reads just 20.

Zirkzee pushed to leave Man Utd in January and in the summer, was the subject of interest from Italian sides. On deadline day, Everton failed with a late loan approach once it became clear Folarin Balogun was staying in Monaco.

But despite Zirkzee’s dearth of action at club level, he was recently called up to replace Brian Brobbey in the Dutch national side.

Zirkzee scored the winning goal last time out in the 2-1 victory over Serbia, and in quotes carried by the Manchester Evening News, he revealed his shock at being selected by Dutch boss Xavi.

“I absolutely did not expect a call-up,” said Zirkzee. “I’m obviously not a starter [at Man Utd], so it did give me a good feeling that the coach had confidence in me to call me up. But absolutely not expected, no.”

Zirkzee revealed Xavi has told the frontman he must play more if these call-ups are to become a regular thing.

Accordingly, Zirkzee promised to do something about his situation at Old Trafford, though precisely how he’ll go about raising his stock in Carrick’s eyes remains to be seen.

“At the moment, that means I am mainly coming on as a substitute,” said Zirkzee of competition at United.

“And in the end, I have to do something about that myself, even if it isn’t easy. Even so, it was still quite a big surprise that the coach called me up.”

Matheus Cunha axe would help Joshua Zirkzee

One figure connected to Man Utd who believes Carrick is getting his striker selections all wrong is Nicky Butt.

Speaking last month, Butt bemoaned Carrick’s insistence on selecting Cunha as the central striker, something he’s done in all five league games this term.

If Carrick were to remove Cunha from that spot and utilise the Brazilian in other areas, Sesko would likely get the nod to start up top, with Zirkzee called upon more often as the next man up from the bench.

Butt – who won six Premier League titles with United – said on The Good, The Bad and The Football podcast: “Playing Cunha as a nine – it kills him, he’s not a nine.

“He’s nowhere near the player he is when he’s playing off the side.

“We haven’t got a number nine other than [Benjamin] Sesko. Zirkzee doesn’t look anywhere near a Man United number nine.

“How can Man United have one centre forward that they can rely on?”