MANCHESTER UNITED ace Joshua Zirkzee was praised by fans after his classy response to an Instagram clip that was ripping into him.
Zirkzee, 23, joined United in the summer after a £36.5million deal with Bologna where he stood out last season with 12 goals and seven assists in 37 appearances.
The striker had a strong start with the Red Devils as he scored the winner in a 1-0 win over Fulham on his debut in August at Old Trafford.
However, the Netherlands international has been unable to build momentum in his next 10 games across all competitions after his impressive bow.
That has led to criticism across social media amid United’s worst ever Premier League start.
A channel satirised Zirkzee’s positioning on the pitch with a clip on Instagram.
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One of the content creators pretended to be the Dutchman and was shown being unable to play at No9 as he instead opted for a deeper role in midfield or down the wing.
Zirkzee caught wind of the parody clip and won over a lot of fans by being a good sport and simply “liking” the video.
Fans stormed the comments section and praised the centre-forward’s strong character, while some predicted he will soon silence his critics and trolls.
One fan tweeted: “He might have a better sense of humour than most of your bunch.”
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Another commented: “Zirkzee is unstoppable.”
A third wrote: “Zirkzee is fantabulous.”
This one said: “His redemption arc is loading.”
And that one stated: “He’s scoring on Thursday [in the Europa League at Fenerbahce], watch.”
Zirkzee only spent 16 minutes on the pitch during Saturday’s 2-1 win over Brentford at Old Trafford.
Stats showed that the forward did float around the Bees’ half and at times was caught deeper than the No9 position, but his career so far shows that he was actually playing to his strengths.
The ex-Bayern Munich ace previously revealed that he occasionally drops down to midfield and thus considers himself more of a “9.5”.
Zirkzee said: “I occasionally drop down to midfield. I don’t do that for myself but to help the team.
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“I am what I call a false striker. Not a No 9, not a No 10. I am a 9.5! That’s my game.
“Maybe I’m a little different than others. But being different is good, right?”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
