Manchester United eased past West Ham United 3-0 in the Premier League on Sunday in one of their most dominant displays this season.
It was the young trio of Rasmus Hojlund, Alejandro Garnacho, and Kobbie Mainoo who shone the brightest with manager Erik ten Hag lavishing praise on the youthful stars.
It was great to see the Dane, who struggled to score in England in the first half of the season, grow in confidence with Sunday’s goal, his fifth in the last six appearances, coming with a rasping drive off his right foot.
The Dutch manager always believed in the Denmark international and hence the significant outlay on his price in the summer.
United need a striker
But it would have been far more prudent to bring in an experienced head to play alongside the 20-year-old so as to avoid heaping further pressure on the youngster.
Anthony Martial was his usual lackadaisical self, and has been ruled out for three months due to injury and is likely to leave the club in the summer.
Marcus Rashford has struggled on the pitch while creating unnecessary headlines off it and the club need to bring in a striker next summer.
The Dutchman had claimed that he wanted someone to be brought in during January but FFP concerns meant nothing came of it.
INEOS are unlikely to back the manager when it comes to a deal for Brian Brobbey of Ajax, and most recent reports have linked the Red Devils with a move for Joshua Zirkzee of Bologna.
The Netherlands U21 international has nine goals and six assists from 21 starts across all competitions, with a goal involvement coming every 130 minutes.
Bayern Munich, who had an option to buy him for a cheaper rate as he was their academy product, have no intention of coming back for him and the Serie A club are in no mood to agree a cheap sale of their rising star.
Calciomercato have now reported that Bologna are open to a sale in the summer and are holding out for more than €40 million due to Bayern having a sell-on clause.
United remain in pole position among clubs outside Italy while AC Milan, Juventus and Napoli are also sniffing around for a player likened to Robert Lewandowski during his Bayern days.
Zirkzee links
“Zirkzee, barring any surprises, will say goodbye to the two Towers, but whoever wants it will have to put a significant sum on the table, in excess of 40 million euros.
“In Italy there is a club that has moved with great conviction, which has put it at the top of the wish list, namely Milan. To date, Juventus and Napoli are further behind, while abroad it is above all Manchester United who have asked for information.”
Arsenal have been linked with a move as well and hopefully, United can get the deal over the line if they are truly interested in Zirkzee.
This is the 2019/20 Champions League winner’s first full season in Italy and it will be interesting to see if the club goes for another up and coming talent or chooses to bring in someone who is more experienced.
