Manchester United head coach Erik ten Hag has revealed that Joshua Zirkzee is in line to make his Red Devils debut in Saturday's Community Shield against Manchester City.
Zirkzee arrived at Man United from Bologna last month, but he was not involved in their pre-season preparations, having been given an extended break after representing Netherlands at Euro 2024.
The Dutchman has recently started full training alongside his new teammates, though, and he is set to be involved in the Manchester derby on Saturday afternoon.
"Yeah I think he can [feature], he is really hungry to do this because he is looking forward and he is also very excited to be coming into the Premier League," Ten Hag told MUTV when asked whether the club's new striker could feature against Pep Guardiola's side.
"To come to Manchester United and on his first occasion go to Wembley, of course that will highly motivate him, that's for sure. But he is also short in training, he had a break, he trained individually but he has now had a couple of days in the team training."
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Zirkzee in line to make Man United debut against Man City
Zirkzee scored 14 times and registered nine assists in 58 appearances for Bologna, including 12 goals and seven assists in 37 outings during the 2023-24 campaign.
Rasmus Hojlund's hamstring problem, which will keep him out until the middle of September, has opened the door for Zirkzee to enjoy a run in the side in the early stages of the season.
However, the 23-year-old has not completed a full 900 minutes since the middle of April, missing the end of last season with a hamstring issue and only being used twice as a late substitute at Euro 2024.
As a result, Ten Hag will want to be cautious when it comes to the forward, suggesting that he may feature off the bench, with Jadon Sancho or Bruno Fernandes potentially operating through the middle.
The Man United head coach also said that his side "will have to fight" if they are to make it back-to-back wins over Man City, having beaten their rivals 2-1 in the FA Cup final at the end of May.
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Ten Hag says Man United "have to fight" in the Community Shield
"First we have to be unified and we have to fight with each other," said the manager.
"That is the mentality we need on Saturday, we need a very good game plan of course because we are playing against a very good team. They have a lot of skills and we have to be ready for that game.
"So that's a big challenge because for the first time we are all coming together this season and then you have a couple of days to be ready as a team to face a very good opponent.
"But we are looking forward [to it], everyone is very excited about this game and going to Wembley always gives us good vibes, it gives us good memories that will absolutely motivate the players."
Man United could be missing six defenders for the Community Shield, with Leny Yoro and Tyrell Malacia definitely out, and Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw and Aaron Wan-Bissaka facing late fitness tests.
Matt Law
