Two Bayern Munich purchases have followed a recent tendency for Manchester United to buy Dutch. This makes Joshua Zirkzee (£7.0m) a useful overlap for Erik ten Hag’s side – an Oranje forward who began first-team life at the German giants.
It cost around £36.5 million – slightly above the release fee – to bring Zirkzee in from Bologna, after helping his side reach the top table of European football.
So can the 23-year-old adapt quickly and what impact will he have in Fantasy Premier League (FPL)?
We’ll take a look during this Scout Report piece, including data and images from our Premium Members Area.
HISTORY
The caged football pitches of Rotterdam helped morph Zirkzee into what he is today. Just like Denzel Dumfries, Lutsharel Geertruida, Bruno Martins Indi and Anwar El Ghazi, he spent his early childhood playing for local club Spartaan’20 before moving on to bigger things.
CAREER LEAGUE RECORD
| SEASON | CLUB | DIVISION | STARTS (SUB) | GOALS | ASSISTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023/24 | Bologna | Serie A | 32 (2) | 11 | 5 |
| 2022/23 | Bologna | Serie A | 5 (14) | 2 | 2 |
| 2021/22 | Anderlecht | Belgian Pro League | 28 (4) | 15 | 8 |
| 2020/21 | Parma | Serie A | 0 (4) | 0 | 0 |
| 2020/21 | Bayern Munich | Bundesliga | 1 (2) | 0 | 0 |
| 2019/20 | Bayern Munich | Bundesliga | 3 (6) | 4 | 1 |
When leaving Feyenoord, Zirkzee opted not to follow up his trial at Everton, instead having the self-confidence to convince an otherwise uncertain Bayern to pursue him.
It worked spectacularly. After plenty of goals for their youth and reserve teams, the forward was handed his senior Bayern debut in a December 2019 Champions League clash with Spurs.
One week later, his maiden league appearance came as a late substitute in Freiburg. Unfazed, he scored a vital goal with his first-ever Bundesliga touch and repeated the trick three days later, breaking the deadlock versus Wolfsburg. Zirkzee may not have appeared often during Bayern’s treble-winning campaign but he played a pivotal part in Hansi Flick’s success.
Naturally difficult to maintain such a start, the Dutchman stuttered in 2020/21, both for Bayern and Parma. Another loan soon followed, joining Belgian side Anderlecht under then-novice Vincent Kompany. It turned out to be his breakthrough season, netting 15 times in 32 league outings.
Bologna were impressed and brought Zirkzee back over to Italy to initially be a squad player. But his influence escalated in year two. His 11 goals and five assists fired I Rossoblù to an improbable fifth-placed finish, securing Champions League football for the first time in 60 years. On a personal level, he was named 2023/24’s Serie A Young Player of the Year.
This earned Zirkzee a place in Ronald Koeman’s Euro 2024 squad, choosing to represent his Dutch father instead of his Nigerian mother. Interestingly, the attacker has not once played in the Eredivisie. Moreover, he happened to make his international debut in the quarter-final win over Turkey.
PLAYING STYLE
Admittedly, the frequency of goals isn’t particularly high but all the hype is based on what he brings to the team. Bundesliga’s website compares him to Pierre van Hooijdonk but that won’t mean much to the younger generation.
It’s because both were 6ft 4in predators, whose traits were slightly deceptive for such a height.
Above: Zirkzee’s take-ons from last season, according to Opta
It’s like our Scout Report upon Alexander Isak‘s (£8.5m) arrival two years ago, where journalist Carl Anka described Newcastle United’s main man as a ‘footballing unicorn’.
What that means is that Zirkzee is tall yet also quick and a good dribbler who glides past defenders. Good at holding up play but also superb at then turning the defender. Brilliant movement. A bit of everything.
“He has a good physique but it is his skill. His technical abilities in tiny spaces are really spectacular. He is so comfortable on the ball. His first touch is always soft. That means he creates a lot of time for himself to find solutions in complicated situations.” – Willem Weijs, who was on Anderlecht’s coaching staff, speaking to Sky Sports
A lot of other comparisons mention former Man United forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic but then-Bologna boss Thiago Motta claimed that “he reminds me of the Ronaldinho I played with at Barcelona”. Not bad company.
Such all-round capabilities are reflected in some underlying 2023/24 stats. Zirkzee ranked joint-seventh for shots (84) but also fourth for attempted dribbles (133) and eighth for open play chances created (43).
“He is a player who can link up the game. Who can be available, hold up the ball, have good ideas, be creative, can dribble, [make] combinations. So that’s a different type and always what we are looking for, so it gives us more options tactically, which is good because, especially up front, we have many players who can play very direct and they can take a big benefit from his skills.” – Erik ten Hag
Often pressing to win possession in the final third of the pitch, he likes to drop deep. But if anyone can coach him into more penalty area poaching, surely it’s Ruud van Nistelrooy. The new assistant manager scored 150 times for the Red Devils but only one came from outside the penalty area. Marginally outside.
HOW ZIRKZEE HAS STARTED
With this in mind, let’s check on how he’s coped in the opening three Gameweeks. Similar to his senior Bayern debut, Zirkzee’s opening-day cameo quickly brought a winning goal, this time at home to Fulham.
It showcased several of the above qualities. He dropped deep, in acres of space, to receive a Bruno Fernandes (£8.4m) pass. He then distributed the ball wide while making a run into the box, in the right place to stick his foot out and prod past the goalkeeper.
Then came a half-time introduction at Brighton and Hove Albion and a Sunday start at home to Liverpool. Here, Zirkzee had two big chances – one forcing an Alisson (£5.5m) save – that totalled 0.88 expected goals (xG).
Above: Zirkzee’s two big chances versus Liverpool
As seen by our Members Area average position maps, Zirkzee (number 11) is being a false nine. Whether that’s through instinct or managerial instructions is something we’ll find out over time.
Coming back allows Marcus Rashford (£6.9m) and Alejandro Garnacho (£6.4m) to push up and get behind the opposition defence but it could also bring unwanted interference with Fernandes’ space.
Above: #11 Zirkzee’s average positions v Fulham (left), Brighton (middle) and Liverpool (right)
Once Rasmus Hojlund (£6.9m) returns from a hamstring injury, perhaps there are plans to pair the two forwards together, with Zirkzee being more of a nine-and-a-half.
Regardless, ten Hag has spoken about wanting his new signing to perfect the balance between dropping deep and being in the box.
“Yes [he gets involved in build-up] but scoring, for a striker, is important. He should be there, where he was, to finish, to kill. But yeah, he has more qualities, so he has to get the right balance. We have to work with him, I think that’s one of the things I spoke with him about, that he has to be arriving in the box to get his finishes, but, of course, we want him to link up.” – Erik ten Hag on Joshua Zirkzee
IS ZIRKZEE WORTH BUYING IN FPL?
Meanwhile, Man United sit third on our Season Ticker over the next 10 Gameweeks, avoiding last year’s top trio.
European commitments may bring Zirkzee a similar fate to Christopher Nkunku (£6.2m), where starts aren’t certain, so it might be worth holding back on a decision until around Gameweek 8.
A further dent is that he’s unlikely to snatch penalties off Fernandes, despite successfully taking some for Bologna. And his new team were down in joint-ninth for last season’s Premier League goals (57), meaning they’ll need to prove themselves first.
Three Gameweeks in, we’ve already seen Zirkzee rise and drop £0.1m. Managers are clearly champing at the bit, impatiently waiting for the green light that will begin this future bandwagon.
