Joshua Zirkzee’s failure to score from the penalty spot against Fulham symbolized a new low in his inaugural season at Manchester United, yet the Dutch forward is said to be making a positive impact off the pitch. The summer acquisition from Bologna missed a pivotal penalty as Ruben Amorim’s team was eliminated from the FA Cup by the West London side at Old Trafford.
Zirkzee was unable to convert his penalty after Victor Lindelof’s attempt was denied by Bernd Leno earlier in the shootout. Nevertheless, sources have commended Zirkzee’s influence on 17-year-old talent Chido Obi, according to the Daily Mail. A video that has circulated among United supporters showcases Zirkzee providing encouragement to the young player during the match, underscoring his ‘big brother’ presence within the squad. Although he came close to scoring against Marco Silva’s team, Obi’s shots were narrowly off target. Before recently being promoted to the first team, Obi had been impressing with his significant goal tally for the U18 team.
Following his impressive hat-trick against Chelsea in the fifth round of the FA Youth Cup, Zirkzee reacted with two fire emojis and two exclamation marks on an Instagram post featuring Obi celebrating. With Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund both finding it challenging to score, Obi has received first-team opportunities sooner than expected.
The young player is recognized as a quiet person, both in his everyday life and on the pitch. Along with Zirkzee, recent addition Patrick Dorgu is believed to be providing support to the young talent.
Despite United’s struggles, the ascent of Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho through the youth ranks indicates that there are numerous chances for the young forward to become a vital player for Amorim.
Given the current struggles of United’s primary strikers, Obi might be utilized more often by the United manager as they continue to face challenges in scoring.
When asked about the former Arsenal academy player’s prospects for more first-team play, the Portuguese coach stated, “Anything can happen in the upcoming matches.”
“During training, we don’t have a lot of time to train, but we need to see the opposition, feel the moment of the player physically, with a lot of games, because we are going to start playing Thursday-Sunday.
“Anything can happen but I will focus just on the next game and not in that way I’m not going to change the striker. I will just choose the best players to win the next match.
“Chido is a player who has played on our U18 national team, so it has become even stronger. So I think we should say, in order to follow the right business procedures, that we just have to make sure that we do it the right way.”