Joshua Zirkzee is set to start on the bench tonight as Manchester United begin the new Premier League season against Fulham.
The 23-year-old forward became the club’s first signing of the summer after joining from Bologna for £36million.
While he played just four minutes of Netherlands’ Euro 2024 campaign, he was among the group of players granted an extended break after their involvement in the competition in Germany, joining up with his new teammates at the end of July.
United are without Rasmus Hojlund for their season opener tonight with the Denmark international not expected to return until mid-September after suffering a hamstring injury.
While Zirkzee is the club’s only other senior striker, he was an unused substitute in last Saturday’s Community Shield clash with Manchester City.
The Manchester Evening News report he is set to remain among the subs tonight against Fulham.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, ten Hag explained some his returning stars are still working their way towards full fitness, including Zirkzee in that group.
‘I think he is close so that is one of the complications,’ ten Hag said.
‘We didn’t have a pre-season with him so we need games to bring him.
‘If you see his background, in the last months he had an injury with Bologna, in the end he made the selection for the Netherlands, so that had him out of our first few weeks of pre-season, so no games — that is his problem in this moment.
‘But now it is his third week in training, you see him stepping up, his fitness levels are improving and he needs more minutes and we can’t do it in a friendly, it has to go into the league.’
Bruno Fernandes started against City as United’s most advanced attacking option but ten Hag hopes to see both Hojlund and Zirkzee playing key roles up top this season, backing the pair to develop into elite strikers.
‘I think we have two young strikers who have the potential to grow into top-class strikers in Hojlund and Zirkzee,’ ten Hag said.
‘I am so happy I have those choices, that fits for all units, all positions, we need a number of players going into the season.
‘We think about 60 games so it will be a survival of the fittest, we need squad depth. You have to make choices and you need rotation. No player can play all the games but also internal competition and you also need some weapons to use tactically.
‘I am very happy we have those numbers and we have quality players so we can make those choices. We also have quality players with different abilities and that is good to have them in the squad.’
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