Joshua Zirkzee — The Complete Breakdown

In a deal worth approximately £40 million, the Red Devils have secured the services of Joshua Zirkzee from Bologna. This transfer marks a significant moment in both Zirkzee's career and Manchester United's ongoing rebuild, as INEOS' first signing for the club.

At first glance, Zirkzee's 1.93m frame can have him mistaken for a traditional 9. But with a vast array of technical skills and a well-rounded game, he profiles more like a second-striker.

Strength : Passing volume
Strength : Final third activity
Weakness : Box presence

This lack of box presence leads to low xG numbers, making his raw scoring numbers slightly unimpressive (only 11 Serie A goals this season, coming from 9.5 xG). Should he shoot more then? Not quite. Despite ranking 17th among Serie A strikers for xG, Zirkzee ranks 4th for shots.

This means the shots he takes are very low xG shots that have very little chance of going in, leading to very low goal conversion and shots on target ratios.


A standout quality is how much Zirkzee tries, non-stop. We covered his shooting but the same can be said about his duelling, with only Duvan Zapata contesting more offensive duels this season. A lot of these will be dribbles, one of Zirkzee's favorite weapons despite his size.


The success rates however? Not that great To put it in context, success rates will go down as a function of the volume. Still, they make for a less impressive reading.


We now get to what is possibly Zirkzee's best attribute : his passing. While he doesn't rank first for any metric, this showcases a striker who excels at linking with his teammates.

Finally, Zirkzee is a fantastic defender. 106 defensive duels, 66 interceptions and even 5 blocked shots (!) in Serie A this season, all top four among strikers.




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