Joshua Zirkzee: The Ultimate Professional | OneFootball

Manchester United has been a club that has housed countless players who lacked professionalism over the last decade or so since Sir Alex Ferguson left the club. These players, who have been spoken about at length, contributed to the toxic environment that lingered around the stadium and training ground at various junctures in recent times.

Since INEOS took over, there has been a shift towards a better mentality throughout the club. This is visible when watching behind-the-scenes clips of the players and their interactions towards one another. The players feel like a big family, all looking out for one another and all pushing each other to become better for themselves and the club they play for.

Amidst all this positivity, there’s one man who stands out above the rest for his professionalism. There’s one player who embodies what it means to be a true professional, and just a general, all-around top human being. That player’s name is Joshua Zirkzee.

Joshua Zirkzee, a model professional

Since the arrival of Benjamin Sesko and Matheus Cunha, both of those new signings have been ahead of the Dutch forward in the pecking order. Many players in this situation could have used this as fuel to become a bad egg in the dressing room, dragging those around him down due to the fact that they are not being allowed to shine. Zirkzee hasn’t done this. In fact, he’s gone in the complete opposite direction.

The former Bologna striker can be seen on the pitch celebrating with his fellow team-mates with all the happiness in the world, geeing them up and not showing any of the signs of the disappointment he must feel from having to sit on the bench for the time being. It’s the type of mentality a dressing room needs, the type of attitude it lives or dies by, and the type of application a manager adores in a footballer, even if the Dutchman’s persistence has not paid off as of yet.

Under every Instagram post, you can see Zirkzee being a supporter for his teammates. Not jealousy. No bitterness. Not allowing his ego to drag those around him down like others that have come before him have so often done. It feels for all the world like Joshua Zirkzee loves Manchester United, even when, at times like the Newcastle debacle, when he was disrespected by a certain section of the fanbase, Manchester United didn’t love him.

But as always, that was a minority of fans, and the real majority love Zirkzee. When he has played, he’s delivered top memories. Arsenal in the cup comes to mind, and who can forget that moment away from home in France, when he burst a header past the Lyon goalkeeper to give Manchester United the lead.

A sesko lifeline

With the injury to Benjamin Sesko against Tottenham, Zirkzee may get the chance to prove himself over the coming weeks. He may not fit the system Ruben Amorim plays, as a false nine is not the greatest piece of a jigsaw to put beside two inside number tens, but the 24-year-old has undoubted talent, and if he can transfer that to the football pitch during the next coming vital weeks for United, he can be a major asset to the side going into the January transfer window.

There is, of course, a chance he leaves either on a permanent deal or on loan during the window, along with Kobbie Mainoo. If he does, he deserves to be remembered fondly by the United fanbase as a player who knew what it meant to wear that red badge, and felt what it was like to have your dreams come through at the Theatre of them.

If he does leave, he will be an asset for any team in the world. A trip back to Bayern Munich with some unfinished business on his mind would not be a bad move for the striker, or alternatively, a return to Bologna, who are beginning to find their feet again in Serie A after that impressive season that Zirkzee played a monstrous part in under Thiago Motta.

One thing is for sure: those who appreciate football and understand the game know how talented Zirkzee is. Analysts with much more knowledge than I campaigned for signing him during the window when we did, and unfortunately, Erik ten Hag’s departure and a complete switch in the system the club deployed meant there were complications along the way.

But as mentioned, despite those complications, Zirkzee still turned up day in and day out with a beaming smile on his face, and it has not gone unnoticed by those amongst the Manchester United fanbase, and the cheers when he scores his next goal for the club will be something to savour, particularly if he scores it in Old Trafford.