$120 million thrown into the garbage

Rasmus Højlund (22, Denmark) and Joshua Zirkzee (23, Netherlands) have failed to meet expectations at Manchester United. A major factor in the club’s ongoing crisis is their alarming lack of goals—nobody is scoring.

For a club that once boasted prolific front men like Van Nistelrooy, Berbatov, Van Persie, and Cristiano Ronaldo, this goal drought is nothing short of embarrassing.

Højlund arrived at Old Trafford with a hefty price tag—€75 million from Atalanta—but has struggled to justify the investment. With just 2 goals in 21 Premier League appearances, the Danish international has found it far more difficult than expected to score in England.

Manchester United face a similar problem with Zirkzee, who has managed only 3 goals in 26 league games. After scoring on his debut in August and adding two more against Everton in early December, he has endured a lengthy goal drought, marked by inefficiency, missed chances, and a lack of presence in United’s struggling attack.

Manchester United: a true basket case

Both players were considered exciting signings—young, promising talents seen as diamonds in need of polishing. However, their fortunes have taken a drastic turn, and criticism has intensified. With goals expected but not delivered, they have fallen short of the high standards at Old Trafford.

Their struggles become even more glaring when compared to Antony, who, despite being loaned to Betis, has already scored twice, or Mason Greenwood, who has netted 14 goals in 22 games in the French league.

A seemingly endless number of questionable and costly transfer decisions have left Højlund and Zirkzee in the spotlight, emblematic of the club’s ongoing struggles.

They sit just a hair’s breadth from the relegation zone, with only 2 places separating them from a truly terrifying battle to stay up. Against a poor Everton side they were 2-0 down and had to fight to salvage a point, with manager Rúben Amorim likely wondering where he can find solutions to the mess that he has inherited at Old Trafford.

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New owner Jim Ratcliffe has also failed to deliver on any promises, cutting costs at the club by firing long-standing employees instead of dropping the wage bill of the players. The stadium is also falling apart, a true metaphor of the ailing club that can’t seem to stop the spiral.

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