Joshua Zirkzee has all the attributes of a traditional No 9. Tall and strong, he’d tick a lot of boxes for Manchester United – and Erik ten Hag. But there is more than meets the eye to the Netherlands’ latest star.
He is technically superior to other strikers that have his height and he thinks and acts quicker than the players around him. He has his early years honing his skills inside steel cages to thank for that.
The Bologna star, born in Schiedam, grew up in Spijkenisse, South Holland in the west of the Netherlands and spent much of his childhood playing on enclosed football pitches named after the greatest Dutch football icon – Johan Cruyff – which encourage players to keep the ball and be intelligent with their movement.
Of this upbringing in the game, Zirkzee said: ‘It makes you tough, you have to be smarter, you have to find a way to keep up with the bigger and stronger guys. I learned on the streets.’
Those experiences have helped mould Zirkzee into a rare breed of striker, and has piqued the attention of his national side. He earned his first cap for the Netherlands in the dramatic 2-1 win over Turkey on Saturday.
Bologna striker Joshua Zirkzee has been heavily linked with a move to Manchester United
Manchester United have been linked with a £34m move for the striker in the summer window
Zirkzee developed his game on the Johan Cruyff courts in his native Schiedam in his youth
His unorthadox style is perhaps makes more sense when you study Zirkzee’s footballing heroes. He grew up idolising Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Argentine striker Gabriel Batistuta. There is a flicker of both in his own unique style of forward play.
Not that his path to the top was always straightforward. His first loan away from Bayern Munich – who he joined at the age of 16 in 2017 – was a frustrating falst start as he picked up an inner ligament injury and only managed four appearances at Parma in the latter half of 2020-21.
But after a difficult start to his professional career another temporary switch, this time out to Anderlecht in Belgium, finally saw his game spark into life.
Zirkzee recorded 16 goals and provided nine assists in 38 games under Vincent Kompany, which on the surface looks impressive but was even more special for the viewers.
By the end of the season Kompany’s assistant admitted: ‘Training was too easy for him and that he needs the next step.’
This reflects the thoughts of many people that observed his season…