Manchester United signing Joshua Zirkzee struggling with pace of Premier League, says Fabio Capello

09/12/2024 11:06 AM

Fabio Capello has criticised Joshua Zirkzee’s start in the Premier League and believes the forward may be struggling to adapt to the pace and intensity of English football.

United were determined to bring in added firepower to support Rasmus Hojlund in the summer transfer window and wrapped up a deal with Bologna for Zirkzee, worth in the region of £36.5million.

Zirkzee enjoyed a dream start to life with the Red Devils, coming off the bench to score a dramatic late winner in the side’s victory over Fulham on the opening weekend of the Premier League season.

But Zirkzee failed to hit the target in either of United’s next two matches against Brighton and Liverpool, which both ended in defeat, and the Dutchman will be desperate to add to his goalscoring tally against Southampton on Saturday.

Another player who made the move from Italy to England this summer was Liverpool new boy Federico Chiesa, a player who Capello feels could be tailormade for the rigours of the Premier League.

And while Capello is convinced Chiesa has the natural attributes to succeed at Anfield, he has some concerns after watching Zirkzee’s early performances in the English top flight.

On Chiesa, Capello told Corriere della Sera: ‘I think he has the right speed to play in the Premier League.

'Elsewhere, I saw Zirkzee who is having great difficulty because he thinks he can still play at the Italian pace.'

With the Ballon d’Or ceremony just a month away, Capello made his case for Manchester City and Spain midfielder to get his hands on the top prize.

‘I would award it to Rodri, for what he did in the Premier League, in the Champions League and at the European Championship,’ the ex-England and Real Madrid manager explained.

‘This season he was the strongest of all.’

Capello is curious to find out how Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain will cope in the new-look Champions League this season, with the two clubs experiencing difficult transfer windows.

‘There is little talk about [Lamine] Yamal’s Barcelona, ​​who cannot buy players,’ he added.

‘And I am interested to see how far PSG will get without [Kylian] Mbappe: they are two teams that I follow with great attention.’

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