Manchester United forward Joshua Zirkzee is reportedly frustrated at Old Trafford and keen to leave the club during the January transfer window.
The 24-year-old joined United from Bologna in July 2024 for a transfer fee of £36.5 million.
Zirkzee signed a five-year contract upon his arrival and has since scored seven goals in 53 appearances.
But he has been an unused substitute four times in United’s first seven Premier League games this season, with manager Ruben Amorim preferring to use Benjamin Sesko as the attacking focal point of his infamous 3-4-3 formation.
Joshua Zirkzee wants January transfer away from Manchester United
According to the Daily Mail, Zirkzee sees a January transfer out of Old Trafford as absolutely crucial to his hopes of winning back a place in the Netherlands squad ahead of next year’s World Cup.
Zirkzee has represented his country six times at senior level to date, scoring once, but he was not selected by Ronald Koeman for this month’s games against Malta and Finland.
Multiple clubs — including Napoli, Juventus and PSV Eindhoven — showed interest in Zirkzee during the summer, while West Ham are the latest club to be linked to him following news of his unrest in Manchester.
Man United fans react to Joshua Zirkzee transfer talk
News of Zirkzee’s apparent desperation to leave Old Trafford sparked thousands of comments from United fans online, many of whom seemed annoyed for various reasons.
Some expressed their sympathy towards a player they believe manager Amorim should be using more frequently.
“I don’t understand why he’s not getting some minutes this season,” said one United supporter. “Let him come on 15-20 minutes for Sesko”.
Another begged: “Josh don’t leave pls”.
Is Joshua Zirkzee being underused by Man Unuted manager Ruben Amorim?
Meanwhile, Zirkzee was told to be patient in other messages.
One fan suggested he will get plenty of chances to play for United this winter when Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo head to the Africa Cup of Nations to represent Cameroon and the Ivory Coast respectively.
“He will literally get a whole month of football when Mbeumo and Amad go to AFCON,” they wrote. “Bro wants to try contributing to goals first”.
Another fan suggested that Zirkzee will likely outlast Amorim and eventually be given a fresh start under the next Man United manager. “There’s no room for Zirkzee in Amorim’s system,” the fan explained. “If he’s not been sacked by Christmas (and I believe he will) then Zirkzee will find a new man in charge who may get something out of him”.
That was far from the only anti-Amorim comment on the subject.
One fan fumed: “Amorim coach can’t rotate and give other players minutes because he’s mid and useless”.
A different fan commented: “All I see Amorim doing is peeing off players and playing bad football. I didn’t think this was how it’d pan out”.
Another fan said: “We gotta get rid of Amorim! Too many players are being left out because of his stupid system.”
But many other supporters called on Zirkzee to work harder and fight for his place at United.
One wrote: “SMH they so focused on WC than actual performance. If they perform when needed, they get called up.”
Another fan added: “I understand with the World Cup coming up But we need players who just want to be at United. Sadly, we don’t have one of the domestic cups and European football to play in. So matches are limited.”
