‘What is he?’ – Scholes baffled by Man Utd signing after Aston Villa draw
Man Utd legend Paul Scholes has questioned what type of striker Joshua Zirkzee is after the Red Devils drew 0-0 against Aston Villa on Sunday.
Erik ten Hag’s side only have two wins to show from their opening seven matches in the Premier League this season with Man Utd dropping to 14th in the Premier League table.
Ten Hag is under pressure to deliver better results after INEOS extended his contract in the summer, and the matches against Porto – which Man Utd drew 3-3 – and Aston Villa were understood to be key in deciding the Dutchman’s future.
In truth, both sides underperformed having been involved in energy-sapping European matches, with Aston Villa nothing like the side that beat Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Bruno Fernandes sent a second half free-kick off the bar as Man Utd sought a winner that so nearly went Villa’s way in stoppage time, only for Diogo Dalot to produce a key block on Jaden Philogene’s attempt.
And Scholes also thought the midweek European matches took a lot out of both sides, he told SuperSport: “It’s a point for United, going to a tough ground under a lot of pressure.
“I never really felt like they went there to try and win the game. It was more of a survival tactic more than anything.
“But from everything we’ve said before the game, United were quite tough to play against today and you have to take into account the midweek fixtures.
“Villa had a big lift from Bayern Munich, winning that game, big atmosphere and they struggled to really live up that today. You could see they probably suffered a bit.
“For Manchester United, it’s difficult to go away in Europe on Thursday night and it was a tough game against Porto with ten men for some of the game so I think the game probably reflected the midweek that both clubs had.”
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Man Utd have only scored five goals in seven matches this campaign and Scholes has questioned the quality of the Red Devils’ forward line, including summer signing Zirkzee.
Scholes added: “In forward areas especially, I just don’t think the quality is there.
“We go back to the most successful teams, they’re capable of scoring goals. What have we scored? Five goals in seven games.
“Now we had three or four forwards who could get you 20 goals so you’re looking at 80 goals a season there and I just don’t see that in the forward line at Manchester United.
“Look, [Rasmus] Hojlund does alright but is he gonna score you 20 goals? I don’t think so.
“Zirkzee… what is he? Is he a No.9 or a No.10? Is he going to get you 20 goals? I don’t think so.
“I think they’re relying more on hope than actual proven quality and they spent so much money as well.”
