Former Chelsea manager Ruud Gullit believes Joshua Zirkzee should have joined AC Milan and not Manchester United | OneFootball

Striker Joshua Zirkzee would have been a better fit for AC Milan than Manchester United, according to former Chelsea player Ruud Gullit.

The Dutch striker was close to an agreement with Milan in the summer but United successfully hijacked the deal and he became the first signing of the Ineos era at Old Trafford.

Zirkzee got off to the perfect start, scoring the winner against Fulham in the opening game of the season.

Nonetheless, he has not scored since, meaning he has only one goal in nine appearances so far this season.

Whilst he has been involved in some nice link up play, he has missed numerous big chances and it is fair to say, he has looked a little raw at Premier League level so far.

Dutch pundit Gullit, speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport, has argued that Zirkzee would have been wiser to join Milan and not the English side.

“Zirkzee would have done better to say yes to Milan instead of moving to England to Manchester United,” he said.

“He knew Serie A and for his development, another couple of seasons in this tournament would have been very useful, but in a top club like Milan.”

The former Milan player bemoaned United’s current state as one of the reasons for Zirkzee’s struggles and claimed it has and will be detrimental for his development as a player.

“Now instead he is in a club that has many problems and that does not facilitate his growth. His numbers are not very exciting,” Gullit opined.

The legendary midfielder did say he hoped the 23 year old could turn his form around by stating, “I hope he can turn the tide after an inevitable period of settling in. He is good, there is no doubt about that, but it is hard to do well at United in such a historical moment.”

There have even been reports that United are willing to consider selling Zirkzee to Juventus in January but this would seem a rash decision after only a few months.

With Erik ten Hag’s time as manager at the club hanging by a thread, few players have produced the goods so far this season, so Zirkzee should have plenty of time to prove his worth in hopefully more stable conditions in the near future.

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