Chris Sutton has expressed concerns that Manchester United strikers Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund might lose motivation following a surprising tactical decision by Ruben Amorim.
The United manager opted to leave both forwards out of the starting lineup against Crystal Palace, a move that hadn’t been seen since his debut match against Ipswich.
Instead, he deployed young midfielder Kobbie Mainoo in a false nine role—an experiment that backfired as United fell to a 2-0 defeat.
Sutton believes Amorim’s decision sends a damaging message to Zirkzee and Hojlund. Speaking to the BBC, the former Premier League striker said: “If you’re one of those two strikers and you see Mainoo—who is an exceptional player but not a forward—starting ahead of you, you’d be questioning your place in the team.
This tells them Amorim doesn’t rate them at all, and he risks losing them mentally for the rest of the season.”
Former Arsenal winger Theo Walcott added another perspective, suggesting Amorim’s choice could be a deliberate test of his players’ character.
“Some managers do this to see who’s truly committed,” Walcott noted. “It’ll be interesting to see how United handle this situation moving forward.”
Meanwhile, ex-United defender Paul Parker speculated that Amorim’s selection was a message to the club’s leadership. Speaking to Metro, Parker compared it to a manager putting two goalkeepers on the bench—a symbolic gesture to highlight a squad deficiency.
“He might be signaling to those above him that he doesn’t trust these two strikers and needs reinforcements,” Parker suggested.
With tensions rising at Old Trafford, all eyes will be on Amorim’s next lineup decision and how Zirkzee and Hojlund respond.