Roy Keane's dismissal of Manchester United's attacking options now looks most awkward for the one player still at the club, Joshua Zirkzee. Manchester United have sold three of the four players Keane previously said were not good enough, leaving only Zirkzee at Old Trafford. He has featured in all five of United's most recent league matches, but only for 114 minutes in total.
Zirkzee is still under the microscope
Keane's complaint in April 2025 was aimed at the attack as much as any one individual. Speaking to manchestereveningnews.co.uk, he said: "Manchester United can still be more of a goal threat. The couple of strikers United have at the club are not good enough for United, but there are other players on the team. I'm not saying they all have to be like that – but they have experienced players there. Maguire, Casemiro, Fernandes – do they get a grip of these players?"
That line looks different now because the club have already moved on three of the four players he was talking about. Fred has gone, Rasmus Højlund has gone, and Zirkzee remains the lingering test of the verdict at Old Trafford.
The Dutch forward's numbers explain why the spotlight has stayed on him. Zirkzee has scored nine goals in 75 appearances in all competitions for United, and his 6.33 average rating across his last five league outings points to a player still trying to settle rather than one forcing the argument the other way.
McTominay's exit changed the argument
The strongest rebuttal to Keane sits away from Old Trafford. Scott McTominay left United for Napoli in the summer of 2024 in a £25million deal, then won Serie A player of the year in his maiden season in Italy.
That is the cleanest reason the old judgement now feels incomplete. McTominay did not just move on, he moved up, and his success in Naples makes Keane's broad swipe at United's outcasts look harder to defend in retrospect.
United's own form has also made the argument a little less tidy. They have won four of their last five Premier League matches, including a 3-0 win at Brighton and a 3-2 home win over Nottingham Forest. Zirkzee has still only been given 114 minutes across those five games, so even with results improving, he has not been trusted with a central role in the attack.
Manchester United's next league match will show whether that changes, but the bigger point is already clear enough: three of the four players Keane singled out are no longer there, and the one who remains is still waiting to answer him on the pitch.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
