A Manchester United player was left out of Michael Carrick’s squad ahead of the Manchester derby against Manchester City on Saturday and may have played his last game for the club.
A whole host of United legends, including Sir Alex Ferguson and Nemanja Vidić, are watching Carrick’s first game as manager of the Red Devils following Ruben Amorim’s recent dismissal. – After 53 minutes, the score is still 0 – 0.
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The English manager opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation with Kobbie Mainoo in the starting line-up, which no doubt delighted fans at Old Trafford.
Meanwhile, Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Šeško were moved to the bench, while Bryan Mbeumo led the attacking line, supported by Amad, Bruno Fernandes and Patrick Dorgu in attack.
Joshua Zirkzee was not included in the matchday squad for the clash against City, despite coming on as a substitute in Sunday’s (11 January) 2-1 defeat to Brighton, which saw United crash out of the FA Cup in the third round.
Zirkzee, who arrived from Bologna for a sum of £36.5 million in July 2024, was previously linked with a resale in the summer of 2025, with AS Roma mentioned as a possible destination.
However, no such transfer was realized, and he remained at Manchester United.
But so far this season, the Dutch international has failed to make a lasting positive impression, scoring just two goals in 16 appearances.
Before kick-off of the Manchester derby, ESPN’s Rob Dawson explained that “Joshua Zirkzee is not in the squad today after suffering a small injury in training, according to United. More talk in Italy that there is still a chance he could move during this month.”
Meanwhile, Dutch journalist Joost Blaauwhof also suggested that Zirkzee “may have already played his last game at Old Trafford”, before explaining how the Dutchman “would love to join AS Roma”.
Roma are currently in fifth place in Serie A, but are only seven points behind league leader Inter. If he were to join Roma, Zirkzee would likely compete with Artem Dovbyk, Brighton loanee Evan Ferguson, Paulo Dybala and January signing Donyell Malen for a place in Gian Piero Gasperini’s starting line-up.
The 24-year-old is under contract with United until June 2029 and, according to Capology, earns around £130,000 a week.
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