Ex-Man Utd coach tells Ten Hag signing to leave Old Trafford: “They’re all ahead of him” | OneFootball

In an exclusive interview with Stretty News, Rene Meulensteen opened up on Manchester United duo Joshua Zirkzee and Matthijs de Ligt and more.

The 24-year-old joined the Red Devils in the summer of 2024, when his compatriot Erik ten Hag was still in charge.

DOWNLOAD THE OFFICIAL STRETTY NEWS APP FOR ALL THE LATEST UPDATES & BREAKING NEWS – STRAIGHT TO YOUR PHONE! ON APPLE & GOOGLE PLAY

The Dutch striker was coming off a splendid stint at Bologna, prompting Man Utd to shell out £36.5 million to secure his services. However, the versatile attacker has been on a rollercoaster over the past two campaigns, and he’s currently struggling for playing time under Michael Carrick.

Rene Meulensteen believes Joshua Zirkzee should quit Man United

Despite his limited playing role, Zirkzee remains a fan favourite at Old Trafford. The fanbase appreciates the striker for his slick touch, positive demeanour, and willingness to chase the ball all over the pitch.

Therefore, recent reports suggested that Zirkzee might be willing to stay at the club beyond the current campaign and fight for his place in the team.

Want more Stretty News coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust

Nevertheless, former Man Utd assistant coach Rene Meulensteen believes this would be a grave mistake on the attacker’s part.

The 62-year-old, who was part of Sir Alex Ferguson’s coaching staff between 2007 and 2013, insisted that his young compatriot must leave MUFC as soon as possible to put his playing career back on the right path.

“Zirkzee never really planted his position in his performances and everything he’s done,” said Meulensteen in his interview with Stretty News in collaboration with Best Betting Bonuses.

“He’s a bit of a bit part player, and I think for other clubs he can be of far more value. He’s obviously done well when he played in Italy, and he played every game, and I think for a young player like him, that is what you want to do.

“So I would definitely ask my agent to scan the market and see what’s possible out there. Obviously, it’s a matter of making sure that you are guaranteed more playing time because at this moment, Amad, Cunha, and Mbeumo are all ahead of him.”

What’s behind Matthijs de Ligt’s injury woes?

Meulensteen then touched on De Ligt’s concerning condition, as he’s been out with a back injury since November, with no signs of an imminent return.

The former MUFC coach fears the defender’s struggles could be down to his physical structure, lamenting what could have been a much more successful career path if it weren’t for injuries.

“Injuries are always down to two categories. It’s either an impact, like when you get kicked, or it’s muscular or neurological.

“People actually misread me when I said that De Ligt is a heavy player. I didn’t mean heavy as fat. But you can see he’s got a heavy bone structure. So I don’t know if anything would have to do with that. 

“It is a shame. I thought at Ajax he was at his very, very best, at a very young age: Very quick, very mature. And basically, after all the clubs he’s been at, whether it’s Bayern Munich, Juventus, and now Manchester United, he hasn’t quite been the same.

“I think there are other central defenders that have bypassed him, like Micky van der Ven or Jan Paul van Hecke.”

Why Dutch football is struggling to produce top-notch attacking talent

We also took the opportunity to enquire about the lack of quality attackers and wingers produced by the Netherlands in recent years, at least when compared to the amount of top-notch defenders and midfielders emerging from the country.

Nevertheless, Meulensteen insisted that the attacking deficiency is a worldwide issue rather than a Dutch one.

“I think when you lack something, it all comes down to development. I mean you name me the Top 10 strikers in the world at the moment. 

“Normally, you could go boom, boom, boom… like this. When that doesn’t happen, that means there has been a chunk in the cable, in the pipeline with regards to development, it’s exactly the same.

“See, Holland has always produced attractive, creative footballers because of the sort of style that Dutch football has adopted. It is possession-based. It was always based on the 4-3-3 system with wingers.

“So you had to develop wingers. You had to have them. I mean, there are still, there’s players out there.

“You’ve got (Cody) Gakpo, you’ve got (Crysencio) Summerville at West Ham, who I think is a really exciting player. But obviously, systems have moved on and changed a little bit because now you’ve got wingers that come into the pocket a little bit more off the front line. So then you have the fullbacks that have to bomb on.

“I think it’s a combination of a lack of development and specialist development in those positions. It has the fact that the systems have changed. It’s more rotation-based, where they swap positions.

“Even in Holland, you got foreigners on the wing. Feyenoord have got two foreigners playing there. Ajax has got foreigners playing there. So that doesn’t help either. So it’s a combination of these three factors.”

Meulensteen reveals Netherlands approach, relishes World Cup role

Meulensteen is currently preparing for the World Cup, as he’s a part of Graham Arnold’s Iraq coaching staff. Nevertheless, he revealed he almost received a call to join the Dutch national team when Danny Blind was in charge (between 2015 and 2017).

“I once had a conversation with Blind, who was the national team coach at that particular time. And I think it was Ruud van Nistelrooy, who was part of the staff, but he went to PSV to coach there, and he recommended me to Danny.

“So he (Blind) came over, and we had a chat about that role. Unfortunately, it never materialised, because he went for Dick Advocaat at the time, because possibly he had a little bit more experience around the national team at that particular time. Plus, he was easier to sell, possibly to the Dutch media.

“But it turned out good to me, because this is my second World Cup coming up with Iraq (after the 2022 World Cup with Australia). Two different countries, two different nations. It makes me incredibly proud, the fact that you can represent a country on an international stage such as the World Cup.

“But obviously the biggest one is, of course, being part of your own national team, plus the fact that I do believe that Holland should aim to go really, really far in the World Cup because of the players that they’ve got and the leagues that they’re playing in.”

Meulensteen left the door open for future opportunity with the Netherlands, expressing his desire to serve his nation.

“It doesn’t necessarily has to be with the first national team, but if I think that if you would look for somebody who needs to be looking for the elite young players that are coming through, because I know what the top looks like and know what the top demands, then we can work towards that.

“If you don’t know what the top demands are, how can you make those players better? How can you prepare them? So those are the things that we definitely look into and listen to. But it has not happened as of yet.”

In the end, we would like to thank Rene Meulensteen for this interview, as well as Dutch-football expert and analyst Michel Nasrallah, for providing the questions.