Paul Parker names Manchester United stars who Ruben Amorim has ‘no faith in’

Manchester United flops Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund have been warned that Ruben Amorim has ‘no faith’ left in them.

The two centre forwards, who have cost United more than £100million combined in recent years, have both flattered to deceive since their respective arrivals in the Premier League.

Hojlund, signed for £72m from Atalanta in 2023, scored only five league goals in his maiden season and has managed just two so far this season in 19 appearances.

And despite scoring on his debut against Fulham last August, Zirkzee has fared no better since arriving from Bologna in a deal worth £36.5m.

The Dutchman has so far scored just three goals in 23 league appearances and suffered the ignominy of being subbed off after only 33 minutes against Newcastle in December.

In a surprise tactical tweak last weekend, both forwards started on the bench as United lost 2-0 at home to Crystal Palace, with Amorim instead opting to deploy central midfielder Kobbie Mainoo as a false nine.

And while he understood the rationale behind deploying Mainoo further forward, former United defender Paul Parker believes Amorim was also using it as an opportunity to indicate that he has lost faith with his other forward options.

‘I understand the reasons why he did it – Kobbie has a good brain and knows what is expected of a centre forward and what he would want from a striker if he was playing deeper,’ Parker told Metro.

‘But it wasn’t going to work because he’s not a renowned goalscorer. It only works if you have midfield players who are going to run past him but they haven’t got enough athleticism within the team to play that way.

‘As well, it could have been a signal to the people above him to let them know that he has no faith in the two players he has tried there.

‘It’s like having two goalkeepers on the bench. Every fan knows that when a manager puts two keepers on the bench, he’s making a point to those above him that he needs someone. I think it could have been that.

‘I don’t know how well it would have gone down but he didn’t get what he needed badly (in the transfer market).

‘It would have lifted the fans if they had gone out and got a centre forward. It didn’t have to be a massive name just someone who wants to prove a point. Now it’s going to be a big struggle until the end of the season.’

United’s attacking options were further depleted after Marcus Rashford left to join Aston Villa on loan until the end of the season.

However, Parker believes Amorim made the right decision to let Rashford go having frozen out the forward since the Manchester derby in mid-December.

‘I don’t think he’ll regret letting him go because he won’t give Amorim what he wants. He’s not a natural centre forward either,’ Parker added.

‘You saw in the Ipswich game that, yes he scored, but he was non-existent as a centre forward. He doesn’t like people behind him because he doesn’t like getting kicked. Every time he stepped forward, you could see he was tense because he was worried about the people behind him.

‘As well, he didn’t need that situation with Rashford and his attitude from January until the end of the season. He didn’t need that around affecting the squad. The most important is the majority over any one individual.’

United will look to get back to winning ways on Friday when they host Leicester City in the FA Cup fourth round.

But asked what changes Amorim could make for the cup clash, a disheartened Parked replied: ‘The problem is I could say quite a few (changes) but how do you replace them?

‘It’s like having a Ferrari that’s not working probably but you’re other car is a Ford Focus. You may as well stick with the Ferrari and hope that at some point it gives you a better run.’

Paul Parker was speaking to Metro on behalf of CryptoCasinosUK.

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