Man Utd star 'at rock bottom' as Ruben Amorim tasked with saving player

The season is three months old and there are too many underperforming players to count.

But of the stars who have seen regular minutes this season, perhaps none of them have found it tougher than Joshua Zirkzee. The Dutchman was signed for from Bologna during the summer after a blistering campaign in .

And the early signs were promising when he netted a late winner against on his debut. Zirkzee found the net again - this time for his country - three weeks later, but he has now gone a staggering 16 consecutive games without a goal.

According to , Zirkzee is 'at rock bottom' and his confidence is 'shattered'. Picking him up and dusting him down will therefore be high on Ruben Amorim's priority list when he welcomes his full squad of United players back from international duty.

Former Sporting boss Amorim faces an awkward wait in the meantime, with many of his players jetting overseas and work permit issues preventing him from getting out onto the training pitch.

The Portuguese must solve United's lack of attacking potency, with only three Premier League teams scoring fewer than the 12 goals they have managed in 11 games.

And unlocking Zirkzee, who hit double figures last campaign, would be a big help. Netherlands boss Ronald Koeman called the confidence-sapped striker up to his latest squad before ruthlessly leaving him out entirely for Saturday's thumping win over Hungary.

After forcing Zirkzee to watch from the stands, Koeman said of the 23-year-old's lack of confidence: "I know the reason and I have my opinion about it - but I don't want to share this at the moment."

Zirkzee is in direct competition with Rasmus Hojlund for the lone starting role up top for United, and that is set to continue if Amorim implements his preferred 3-4-3 formation. It could get even more competitive if the new manager pushes to bring in Viktor Gyokeres, who couldn't stop scoring under him at Sporting.

Former Netherlands striker Wim Kieft is not overly positive about Zirkzee's prospects of finding success at Old Trafford. "I fear for his future at Manchester United," he said. "He was brought in by Erik ten Hag, but has hardly scored and lacks quality for the top level. Now a new manager comes in and if Ruben Amorim judges that he is too light and ineffective for United, things will get really difficult for Zirkzee."