Bologna were Serie A’s biggest surprise package this season, qualifying for Champions League football under Thiago Motta. One player who has been making his way into the headlines as part of this team is Joshua Zirkzee. When Zirkzee unceremoniously left Bayern Munich in the summer of 2022, it never crossed the Bavarian club’s mind that the Dutch centre-forward would become a coveted player in Italy. Zirkzee has now joined Manchester United – but what made the 23-year-old so appealing?
An immediate look at Zirkzee’s numbers last season would have you thinking that United’s transfer policy isn’t serious. Without a single percentile ranking of 80 or above in any metric, it looks like Zirkzee isn’t worth the hype. However, many of his rankings against other European forwards during last season placed him in at least the 60th percentile. That is, Zirkzee ranked in the top 40% for a large handful of metrics.
These metrics also span a wide range of skills. Zirkzee ranked in at least the 60th percentile for key passes and expected goal assists, signs of a creative player. He ranked in the 61st percentile for aerial duels and 58th for tackles: he can be relied on in ground and aerial battles. High rankings for medium and long passes as well as progressive pass volume highlighted his ability in link-up play. Zirkzee’s highest ranking being in non-penalty xG minus goals scored was indicative of his good finishing ability as well.
As a forward, Zirkzee is a bit of an enigma. Using principal component analysis, we can look at players that have a similar playstyle to each other. Most of Zirkzee’s companions in this regard are wide forwards and not central players. He offers a winger-like creativity to teams through his movement and passing – more like a false nine. That is not to say that Zirkzee doesn’t have any poacher-like tendencies. In fact, if we look what the Dutchman does with the ball compared to other forwards, we can see a real “jack of all trades.”
This ternary plot shows us a player’s propensity to carry, pass or shoot the ball when they have it, compared to other players in the league. Zirkzee’s position in the middle of the triangle tells us that he does not have a preference when on the ball. He passes, shoots, and carries an even amount in possession, engaging in multiple phases of the game.
Taking the ternary plot, similarity scores and percentile rankings into account, we can conclude that Joshua Zirkzee is a very multifaceted player. He has the shooting ability of a good striker, but the creativity and build-up involvement of a winger. This makes him an extremely useful deep lying forward, who can also provide a decent box threat. As a case study, we can look at his performance in Bologna’s 2-2 draw against AC Milan in January.
Zirkzee operated in the middle and final third, in the centre of the pitch. Flick ons and quick ball progression helped in Bologna’s transitions. However, his touch map shows that he was active in all phases of play, helping in defence and on the wings.
His pass map backs this up. With many of his passes coming in Bologna’s own half, we can see that Zirkzee liked to drop back and function as a pivot for the team. He also drifted out wide at times to help with play in the final third – one of those times led to his goal.
Despite all that buildup, Zirkzee’s 6 shots in the game against Milan was the most of all players, although his 0.545 xG accumulated didn’t rank him as high. His good movement often found him in good positions in the penalty area for shooting opportunities. The goal, scored from an xG of 0.06, is a sign of Zirkzee’s finishing ability from tight angles.
Joshua Zirkzee is a multifunctional player who can influence play in all phases. He likes to come deep to help in buildup using his technical ability. He is also lethal in the penalty area once he gets there. Not a specialist in any areas, Zirkzee can be relied upon to play several roles for Erik ten Hag. At Manchester United, he can be seen as a Martial-style player who can work alongside or instead of Rasmus Højlund.
United don’t usually operate efficiently and effectively in the transfer market. But under new leadership, the club have made a statement in signing a player who has everything they need to become a mainstay in the side. If Joshua Zirkzee is a sign of things to come, then United fans can begin to look forward to a very different future from before – in a good way.
