BBC: ‘Desperate’ Man Utd man isn’t doing enough to show he’s ‘worthy’ of starting again

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·24 November 2025

BBC: ‘Desperate’ Man Utd man isn’t doing enough to show he’s ‘worthy’ of starting again

Joshua Zirkzee has been granted his first Premier League start of the season against Everton this evening.

Heading into the final half-hour of action at Old Trafford, the forward has yet to provide anything of substance throughout the clash – albeit the same can be said of the whole Manchester United side thus far.

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Zirkzee being given the nod came in the absence of frontman Benjamin Sesko, while Matheus Cunha was also ruled out after sustaining a head injury in training.

Alas, the duo being unavailable paved the way for the Dutchman to feature from the off amid his hugely uncertain situation in M16.

Joshua Zirkzee has been chomping at the bit to get his chance

(Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Heading into the contest, Zirkzee had made only four top-flight appearances and accumulated only 82 minutes of action since 2025/2026 got underway.

Playing such a reduced role prompted him to begin considering his future away from the club in January, with countless reports in recent weeks suggesting that Zirkzee is keen on leaving on loan to increase his game time in the build-up to the World Cup.

He has not represented his nation for 12 months and will be well aware that he has no chance of making Ronald Koeman’s final squad next summer if he continues to watch on from the bench each week.

However, the onus is also on him to perform in the rare chances he does get, such as tonight.

BBC journo reacts to Zirkzee’s quiet display

(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

“Joshua Zirkzee has been desperate for a chance to show he is worthy of a place in this Manchester United side,” said BBC Sport chief football news reporter Simon Stone.

“He wants to protect his World Cup chances. On either metric, he has to do a lot better than this.”