Man Utd signing warned he could flop ‘hard’ and told which club he should have joined instead
Ruud Gullit thinks Joshua Zirkzee should have joined AC Milan instead of “a club that has so many problems” in Manchester United.
Zirkzee joined Man Utd from Bologna in the summer transfer window for a fee that will rise to over £40million.
He scored on his Premier League debut but has been unable to find the back of the net since, costing his side a potential win at Brighton the following week with a bizarre offside that denied Alejandro Garnacho a goal at 1-1.
It has been a pretty difficult start for the 23-year-old, who was linked with several clubs in the summer transfer window before landing at Old Trafford.
One of those clubs were AC Milan, who were in talks to sign the Dutch international from Bologna but ended up signing Alvaro Morata to replace Olivier Giroud.
Having shone in Serie A under Thiago Motta, a switch to San Siro could have been perfect.
MORE ON MAN UTD FROM F365
👉 So-called crisis club Man United among four still flawless in Premier League point-spaffing table
👉 Every Premier League manager’s next job: McKenna to Man Utd; England get Pep then Howe
Zirkzee should have joined Milan, not Man Utd – Gullit
Zirkzee decided the best move for his career would be Man Utd and due to his slow start, Dutch legend Gullit has said he should have joined Milan.
He said: “Zirkzee would have done better to say yes to Milan instead of moving to Man United in England.
“He knew Serie A and another couple of seasons in this league would have been very useful for his maturation but at a top club like Milan.
“Now instead he is at a club that has so many problems and that does not facilitate his growth.
“I hope he manages to reverse the trend after an inevitable period of acclimatisation.
“He’s good, no doubt about that, but at United, it’s hard to do well at such a moment in history.”
Man Utd are back in action on Sunday when they play Aston Villa in the Premier League.
Defeat against Villa, who are on a high after beating Bayern Munich in the Champions League, would send under-pressure manager Erik ten Hag closer to the edge.
While Ten Hag’s future is uncertain, Unai Emery’s stock could not be higher as he has led a remarkable turnaround at the Midlands club.
However, he does not want his players to “relax” after the landmark win over Bayern and wants to beat United.
“We enjoyed Wednesday a lot but I’m not changing my mind or perspective,” Emery said. “I have ambition in this club since I arrived here.
“Today is the same. It is to be demanding every match, be demanding even if you achieve some objective before you were planning.
“We are getting a lot of success sooner than I was thinking. Now my expectation is to keep it.
“The example I have is to be demanding and don’t relax because we are being. This is my point of view I want to control with the players and the club.
“How I am pushing the players and how we can be consistent in the Premier League. Fantastic day on Wednesday, but now I will want to win on Sunday.”
👉 READ MORE: Manchester United news | Who will be the next Man Utd manager?
