How Erik ten Hag can get Bruno Fernandes and Zirkzee firing in same Man Utd team as stars compete for playmaker role

JOSHUA ZIRKZEE joined Manchester United off the back of a strong season in Italy.

The 23-year-old was signed in a £36.5million transfer from Bologna to boost Erik ten Hag‘s forward options beyond that of Rasmus Hojlund.

The Dutch international scored 12 goals and added seven assists in 37 games for the Serie A side as they unexpectedly qualified for the Champions League.

However, Zirkzee is a striker who prefers to operate deeper and link play, as opposed to playing high and on the shoulder all of the time.

Forwards of this type can work and score goals at the highest level, but there is a need to make sure the rest of the team work in tandem to suit this profile and style of forward.

Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino is a famous example of this as he linked with Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane to maximise their impact in games as they stayed higher while the Brazilian dropped deeper.

United arguably have the players to fill these wide attacker roles in Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho, but Zirkzee’s role at present comes into conflict with club captain Bruno Fernandes.

It begs the question of whether Ten Hag wants to use Zirkzee or Fernandes as his chief playmaker or whether he can afford to have them both looking to occupy similar spaces and play similar roles.

Zirkzee as the deep playmaker

Zirkzee has had an interesting career path to reach Old Trafford.

He moved from the Netherlands to Germany at an early age to join the youth system at Bayern Munich, but he never looked like breaking into the first team at the Bavarian club.

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Instead, he had a series of loans before Bologna took him on a permanent deal prior to the 22/23 season.

Zirkzee’s talent has never been in question, but instead, the question mark over him is how to get the best out of him – given that he is not the most prolific of goalscorers.

So, United have to have been aware when they were watching the Dutch forward that he was not perhaps a traditional striker in the way that their fans may have expected.

Zirkzee described himself as a “9.5” centre-forward, not one to play high all the time but instead dropping deeper to link play.

His ability to drop deep and link play was evident in games against Southampton and Crystal Palace, with his line-breaking passes and making the ball stick pivotal to the team’s play through the thirds.

Having Zirkzee playing as the striker and dropping back towards the ball gives a strong platform to play forward and into thanks to him being comfortable receiving the ball with his back to goal and with a defender tight to his back.

However, he also has the ability to take the ball and turn and dribble to outplay the opposition player to move into space.

He is extremely skilful and comfortable in possession for such a strong forward player and as such when opposition defenders get tight to him he is always a threat to get turned and drive towards goal.

And crucially, when he gets turned in these deeper positions he then has the quality to make forward passes to release teammates and bring others into the game.

As a deep creator, Zirkzee offers a lot of creativity as well as the ability to receive and hold up the ball in deeper areas.

Creating in the area

The seven assists Zirkzee registered last season prove he was operating as a more creative forward option for Thiago Motta’s Bologna side.

While we have already discussed his effectiveness when dropping deep to receive the ball and bringing others into the game, he can also perform the same function when receiving with his back to goal in the penalty area and creating opportunities for team-mates.

This is a role that would actually fit well for this current United squad.

They would effectively be able to use both Fernandes and Zirkzee as creative players with the ability to progress the ball from deep and then link with team-mates in and around the opposition penalty area to create shooting opportunities.

The key for United, when they do choose to play Zirkzee as the main striker in their system, is to make sure they have enough players around him who can take shots on goal.

We have already touched on the likes of Rashford and Garnacho in particular who are very strong in this regard.

But Fernandes himself is also a high-shot volume player who can benefit from the creativity of Zirkzee in these positions.

Indeed, the numbers show Fernandes is making the most of this by taking 3.06 shots per 90 minutes, with Zirkzee creating 1.29 chances with 6.04 touches in the opposition box per 90 in all competitions

Having a target striker who is comfortable taking possession of the ball in higher positions will naturally allow United to concentrate their play higher up the field in areas where they can immediately create danger and put stress on the defences of the opposition.

And United have the chance to create a system generates a lot of chances on goal – something the numbers are once again proving is happening.

Ten Hag’s team have had 127 shot-creating actions in the league this season.

This figure is more than Chelsea (112), Aston Villa (107), Newcastle (104) and Arsenal (92), but they have scored fewer goals. So what is going wrong in the final third?

In simple terms, they are not clinical.

United have the second-worst Expected Goals underperformance with 4.5 fewer goals scored than an average team would have expected to score, while they also have the most big chances missed of any team in the division with 17.

What about Bruno Fernandes?

Talisman Fernandes is one of the main culprits of these wasted chances.

The 30-year-old has so often been United’s saviour since joining, but he appears to have lost his cut-throat edge at the start of this season, with just 0.7 shots on target per 90 minutes

The main question is whether Ten Hag should start to use Zirkzee as more of a playmaker instead of relying on Fernandes as the main creator and ball progressor when they are in the attacking phase.

The answer, however, should probably be that they use both.

There are some teething issues at this stage in the season with United getting used to the fact Zirkzee likes to drop deep and at times occupy the same positions as Fernandes.

While this does create an issue, it is something that should be easily fixed as the two players get used to playing together.

They will both have to make compromises, and perhaps park their egos so that both can shine in the same team.

Fernandes in particular will have to adapt the way he plays for United.

With Zirkzee capable of staying higher and providing a platform United can play into, his role should work well with Fernandes when he plays deeper or pulls out into wide areas.

This should also help to get the best out of the United wide players such as Rashford, Garnacho and Amad Diallo, who are more than capable of peeling off the shoulder with inverted runs

By having two real creative forces in their team United have the capacity to become a team that can create chances and score goals on a regular basis.

The key for Ten Hag and his coaching staff is to find a way to set the team up in such a way that he can get the best out of both players.

Conclusion

Zirkzee’s signing has been a slow burner.

But that is not to say elements of his game have not been impressive.

Rather, the team’s underperformance in front of goal reflects poorly on him as the striker.

If United can create a structure to get the best out of Zirkzee and Fernandes – who must refind his scoring touch – then they may well challenge for Champions League qualification this summer.