Ruben Amorim has been told by legendary striker Robert Lewandowski how to fix the £36million problem at the tip of Manchester United’s attack.
Amorim takes charge of his first United game as manager this weekend, with Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich Town the Portuguese tactician’s first opponent in English football.
The departing Erik ten Hag left plenty of issues to fix in the much-maligned coach’s outbox, but few are more pressing than the Joshua Zirkzee conundrum.
Zirkzee penned a five-year contract with the club in the recent summer transfer window and is one of several Dutch players signed under Ten Hag’s watchful eye.
Three months into the campaign though, his big-money move from Bologna hasn’t worked out as planned.
The 23-year-old’s only goal of any kind for United so far came in the opening game of the season against Fulham, with 16 scoreless matches having come and gone since.
But according to current Barcelona ace Lewandowski, Amorim should still be able to make good use of him.
Commenting on his former Bayern Munich team-mate, Lewandowski said: “He plays amazing with the back to the goal. He can hold the ball. He can play with one touch or two touches and bring the wingers to behind his back.
“He has also good finishing in the box because he’s big. He’s young, but he’s big and I think he can keep the ball, hold the ball very, very strong. Of course, he needs a little bit of time.”
The Polish international added: “It’s normal if you join this kind of club, a big club with a huge expectation. He scored a lot of goals in Serie A. For him, that was the first season that he was involved as a typical striker. But you know that now the time for Manchester is not so brilliant…
“But he’s the striker. He can really help teammates and the team if you know how to use him. Also, he can score the goals. I think he’s not a typical goal-scoring striker. He’s also the player who can help the teammates to create the space for them.”
On one hand, the new managerial arrival gives Zirkzee the opportunity of a fresh start and a chance to impress Amorim, who by all accounts often rewards hard work with minutes on the pitch.
But given it can at times be tough for players brought in by the previous regime to leave a mark, Zirkzee could find patience running thin if he doesn’t hit the ground running.
