Man Utd star Joshua Zirkzee told he can’t train on pitch after groundsman fails to recognise him
JOSHUA ZIRKZEE will be hoping to become a household name this season after sealing a £36.5m move to Manchester United this summer.
But the Dutch striker isn’t quite there yet, after being told he couldn’t train by a groundsman who had no idea who he was.
Zirkzee, 23, arrived at the Theatre of Dreams back in July having been lured away from Italian side Bologna by the Red Devils.
A goal off the bench on his debut looked to spark his career in Manchester into life, but a disappointing performance in Sunday’s 3-0 defeat to Liverpool will have shown the forward just how challenging the Premier League is.
Alongside Matthijs de Ligt, Leny Yoro, Noussair Mazraoui and Manuel Ugarte, Zirkzee has been brought in to try and revitalise an unrecognisable Man Utd team under Erik ten Hag.
And although he is a full international for the Dutch national team and previously represented European giants Bayern Munich, he doesn’t seem to be a big enough name to be recognised by club groundsmen yet.
Zirkzee was refused the chance to train on a local pitch in his home country of the Netherlands after the groundsman had no idea who he was.
Having being snapped up by Man Utd and keen to get in some voluntary pre-season, Zirkzee headed to VV Hekelingen this summer with two of his friends and a bag of balls to sharpen his skills before training at Carrington.
Speaking to the Mail, VV Hekelingen groundsman Hans van Bodegom recalls Zirkzee zooming through the streets in his black Porsche before telling him he couldn’t play on the grass.
He said: “He came here in a big car with a lot of noise. First of all, I told him to slow down because there were a lot of kids about.
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“Then I said they couldn’t train on the main pitch. ‘That (the astroturf) is for you!’.
“They were here for about two hours. I only recognised him later. A policeman we know at the club said they gave him a speeding ticket in Rotterdam later that night.”
He wasn’t the only local who had no idea who Zirkzee was either with the Mail’s report telling that Uber driver Kadir played a 3v3 with the star in the streets of Snoekenveen five years ago.
Only to flick on his TV a few weeks later and see that Zirkzee was lining up for Bayern in the Champions League.
It seems unlikely that Zirkzee will be able to have a kickabout in the streets of Manchester without being recognised, however.
His 6ft 4in stature and hefty price tag will mean most fans will be able to pick him out from a crowd.
While the weight of wearing the Manchester United badge on your chest certainly brings a level of fame and expectation with it.
Zirkzee missed two golden opportunities as United fell to a 3-0 defeat at the hands of fierce rivals Liverpool on Sunday.
But a trip to the south coast to face Southampton follows the International break.
A clash with a newly promoted side that will offer the striker a chance to regain some confidence.