Joshua Zirkzee enjoyed a dream debut for Manchester United, scoring the winner against a solid Fulham side as the Premier League kicked off on Friday evening. The National – and other journalists – spoke to the Dutch international afterwards.
How was your debut?
A great feeling, a great feeling, it couldn’t be any better. What can I say? Debut, winning, scoring in front of the Stretford End, so yeah, it’s unbelievable.
Where does that moment rank?
This moment? Somewhere between my debuts with Bayern Munich and it’s a bit below winning the Champions League with Bayern and my national team debut, but it’s up there.
What’s your target this season?
I’ve not really [set a target], I’m just trying to be the best version I can be, help the team and club, so no specific goals.
Were you frustrated not to play last weekend against Manchester City?
I’m sure the manager had a good reason for it, I’m not too difficult with these things. It’s his choice and today, my debut, wasn’t too bad.
Are you a natural scorer?
I’m not going to talk about myself like that but it was a good touch today, so hopefully more of that.
What’s your best position?
My role is probably what works best for the team, I’m a striker that’s comfortable coming in deep and helping the team play football, so it doesn’t really matter.
Do you like to drop deep?
This was my game in Italy and previously in Anderlecht, so that could be an option but if the manager needs me to do something else, I’m here.
Do you feel relief?
I mean, yeah, first game, first goal, it’s always a relief to have that off your shoulders, but it goes on and we’re just going to work for the next game.
What’s your life like away from the pitch?
I don’t really do much, I have my dog, I take him for a walk and sit in the house and watch a TV series, play PlayStation or do whatever. At the moment, I’ve just finished 'The Umbrella Academy' and it wasn’t too good of an ending but I enjoyed it, it was good.
Why did you move to United?
Why Manchester United [laughs]? For some people, it might be crazy, but for me, I mean, this is the biggest club in the world, so it wasn’t a difficult choice to make to be honest.
How is it working with Ruud van Nistelrooy?
Yeah, it’s a privilege to have someone like that. As a striker, it’s not every day you have someone that you grew up watching, so yeah, that’s pretty much it. But everybody in the staff up to now has been great and I enjoy working with these people a lot. It’s not just him, but obviously it’s an extra privilege.
What about two other debutants who you know: De Ligt and Mazraoui?
They’re two great players and we’ll see in the future what they can bring. I’m sure they’ll do a lot of great things here. I think Mazraoui had a great game today as well and I think De Ligt came in with a lot of good energy as well, so yeah, it’s good to have familiar faces around. But everybody in the team has been very kind and it’s top being part of this group.
Mazraoui arrived this week and it’s not easy to obviously come into a team and directly play the way he did. I think it all looked natural and that was the most special part of his game today. But yeah, that’s just the player he is, he’s there to do his job and perform the best way he can and I think he did great today… not just because he’s my friend.
