Manchester United’s frontline has been far from clinical this season. (Photo by Ion Alcoba Beitia/Getty Images)
To say Manchester United’s attackers are bereft of confidence is an understatement.
Neither Rasmus Hojlund nor Joshua Zirkzee has found the back of the net in the Premier League since the start of December while Alejandro Garnacho has been waiting since last November to add to his top-flight account.
While all young players, you can’t blame managers – at club or international level – for demanding considerably more from the Reds and, eventually, they’re bound to fall out of favour if they keep overseeing substandard performances.
That was, indeed, the case for Hojlund on Sunday, as he was dropped from Ruben Amorim’s starting XI to face Arsenal at Old Trafford. Instead, he made a 14-minute cameo off the bench, yet still frustrated fans when botching a one-on-one with David Raya and taking too many touches to allow Declan Rice to intervene.
Now, as we approach the international break at the end of the month, Zirkzee has been dealt a blow in the form of being omitted from the Netherlands squad by Ronald Koeman.
Koeman explains Zirkzee omittance
The Dutch national team take on reigning European champions Spain in a two-legged Nations League quarter-final and will do so without United’s No.11 in their ranks to try and make a difference in the ties.
When pressed on his decision to leave out Zirkzee, who has six caps to his name already, Koeman told reporters (via SoccerNews): “He wasn’t in the preliminary selection because I don’t think he’s good enough at the moment. Especially scanning when turning or passing, [it] often goes wrong.
“Yes, in principle form and fitness are always leading, but that is not always possible. We have a lot of central defenders and midfielders, but we are somewhat limited upfront.
“But even then, I still think that you have to earn your selection, and I think he doesn’t deserve that now, but that could be the case again in another case again in another period.”
