Ian Wright has poured praise on Joshua Zirkzee following his inspired display against Crystal Palace over the weekend.
The forward retained his place in the starting XI for the second successive week, having led the line for Manchester United’s lacklustre defeat to Everton six days prior.
He enjoyed a much more rewarding shift this time around, though, and notched his first goal of the campaign to draw the Reds level in the second half, which also marked his first goal in 364 days.
It was perhaps his finest finish, too, as he squeezed the ball past Dean Henderson from a near-impossible angle after being played in by Bruno Fernandes, who proceeded to also assist Mason Mount for the winner just nine minutes later.
For the first time in 24 Premier League matches, Joshua Zirkzee scores for Man United! 👏
📺 @TNTSports & @DiscoveryPlusUK pic.twitter.com/e2QFTnWMkC
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) November 30, 2025
Zirkzee will feel he’s done enough to stay in the XI
Now, in the build-up to Thursday’s clash with West Ham, Zirkzee will likely be sweating over whether he will drop back to the bench in the event Matheus Cunha returns from injury.
United’s summer signings, Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko, have been keeping the Dutchman out of the team – hence his first start of the season coming in Cunha and Sesko’s absence.
Mbeumo has been included in Cameroon’s squad for the forthcoming Africa Cup of Nations tournament, so there could well be a chance for Zirkzee to stake his claim and move up in Amorim’s estimations.
What Wright had to say about Zirkzee post-Eagles trip
From Wright’s point of view, the 24-year-old certainly deserves a chance based on what he’s seen.
“One player I was particularly impressed with was Zirkzee,” Wright said on Premier League Productions’ ‘The Weekend Wrap’ when analysing United’s win over Palace.
“I know he scored, but his link-up play, the way he played in the game, you could see it was very cohesive, passing the ball around, it was very nice. They showed a lot of character and will have to build on that.”
Why is Wright praising Zirkzee so much. Zirkzee was anonymous right up to the time he scored and then went back to being a passenger. What Link up play? He receives the ball moves forwards and loses it or passes it to an opponent. One accurate pass was all that he achieved. Either Wright has lost his marbles or he wants Zirkzee to continue as that will put United at a disadvantage