Former Match of the Day pundit Mark Lawrenson says Manchester United signed a ‘bit of a flop’ last summer.
The 2024 summer transfer window saw Leny Yoro, Noussair Mazraoui, Matthijs De Ligt and Joshua Zirkzee arrive at Old Trafford.
French defender Yoro has barely played due to an injury he sustained during the club’s pre-season tour but Mazraoui and De Ligt have featured heavily for a team sitting in the bottom-half of the Premier League.
Zirkzee, meanwhile, has also racked up the minutes but is yet to convince a large section of Manchester United fans and Liverpool legend Lawrenson.
The Netherlands forward scored on his Premier League debut back in August but then went over three months without a goal.
£36m signing Zirkzee scored a brace in the 4-0 win over Everton at the start of December and in the 4-3 Carabao Cup defeat to Tottenham earlier this week, but Lawrenson is yet to be convinced.
‘Joshua Zirkzee has been a bit of a flop since joining Manchester United in the summer,’ he told Paddy Power.
‘I don’t like using that word, but he’s just been in and out of the team and hasn’t had any consistency.
‘The forward players at United are all fighting for their place in the team and it seems like unless you play outstandingly, there is no guarantee that you’ll be in the team the next week.
‘This shows to me that the manager has a much bigger job on his hands. Every time Rúben Amorim picks a team, it’s different, because he’s trying to work out his best team from his squad.
‘The problem is that the manager has too many players to pick from and he won’t be able to keep them all happy.’
Zirkzee is not the only Manchester United forward struggling to impress, with Marcus Rashford dropping out of the team under Ruben Amorim and now looking set to end his long association with the Red Devils.
Earlier this week he admitted he was ‘ready’ to leave and Lawrenson expects Rashford to be on the move in January.
‘From Marcus Rashford’s interview, I think he’s already decided on what he wants to do next,’ Lawrenson added.
‘I think he’ll leave Manchester United because he doesn’t look interested when he plays.
‘We’ve got no idea on what has happened as he scored over 30 goals one season, but since then, it’s been getting less and less.
‘Ruben Amorim played it down in his press conference, saying he can get a new challenge within the club, but ultimately, Amorim will be thinking that if he doesn’t want to be a part of the plans, then he can clear off.
‘The other interesting thing is that the longer this goes on with Rashford not playing and not performing, means the number of suitors will be less.’
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