Manchester United have been warned to be patient with Joshua Zirkzee, as it took him a year to explode at Bologna.
Il Resto del Carlino cover comments from Bologna’s Federico Ravaglia today in which he insists striker’s such as Zirkzee need time to adapt to life at a new club.
The Dutchman swapped Bologna for Manchester United in a €42.5m deal this summer as they looked to add another forward option to Erik ten Hag’s squad.
He moved to Old Trafford after managing 14 goals and nine assists in 58 games for the Italian side, establishing himself as the star in his second season after arriving from Bayern Munich.
It’s been a difficult start to life at Manchester United so far for the 23-year-old, who scored the winner on his debut against Fulham but has not managed a goal or an assist in nine games in all competitions since.
Questions are being raised by those who watch him regularly, with it unclear what role Zirkzee is supposed to be playing in the squad, particularly as Ten Hag insists, he is not an out and out striker.
The hope is that he can prove himself in the coming weeks and dispel the growing doubts and Ravaglia has admitted that might take time, pointing out his own experience with the player in a conversation about his replacement at Bologna, Thijs Dallinga.
“Thijs arrived in a new world, with a lot of pressure on him because he was replacing Joshua who was one of the best in Europe,” he said.
“But, be careful: I remember Zirkzee in Parma and the one from his first season with us. In training I thought he was a phenomenon: but it took him a year to explode. Look, Thijs needs time: he has the qualities to score 15 goals.”
