Man Utd chief Dan Ashworth has Joshua Zirkzee to thank for dodging £30m bullet

The early stages of Joshua Zirkzee’s spell at Manchester United have been disappointing, but the Dutchman at least distracted sporting director Dan Ashworth from pursuing a striker in an even worse vein of form.

Pressure is mounting on Zirkzee to begin showing why United paid £36.5million to prise him away from Bologna in July. The 23-year-old netted the winner on his Premier League debut against Fulham, but he has not scored since.

And there is even talk of United chiefs looking to flog their summer signing when the transfer window reopens in January. The Red Devils’ recruitment department has not covered themselves in glory given that another player on their attacking hit list, Brian Brobbey, is on a similarly cold streak.

Brobbey was hot property during the summer after hitting 18 goals and notching eight assists for Ajax in the Eredivisie. United and Arsenal were both said to be keeping tabs on the 22-year-old forward, who came with a £30m price tag.

The influence of now-sacked manager Erik ten Hag may have played a role in United’s interest in Brobbey, given that they previously worked together in the Netherlands. But United chiefs stuck to their guns and went for Zirkzee instead.

Two-and-a-half months on from the summer window slamming shut, Ashworth and co. will be thanking their lucky stars that they didn’t take a punt on Brobbey, who has not scored a single league goal in 10 outings this season.

Though Zirkzee’s form is nothing for United chiefs to feel smug about, he is at least off the mark against a higher standard of opposition than Brobbey faces week to week.

Just like Ajax bosses will be confident that their misfiring forward can rediscover the form he showed last season, especially after a strong showing against Maccabi Tel-Aviv last week, senior figures at Old Trafford may also be optimistic that Zirkzee can find his feet.

Most of his club appearances have come as a substitute this season, with Rasmus Hojlund winning the battle to start up front despite his own goal-barren run.

It remains to be seen whether Ruben Amorim’s arrival causes a shift in the pecking order. The Portuguese is expected to deploy the 3-4-3 formation he used at Sporting, clearing a single starting spot for one of the club’s recognised centre-forwards.

While Zirkzee has work to do if he is to force his way into the XI, United can at least take comfort in the fact that one of their pricey alternatives is having an equally tough time of it this campaign.