If Manchester United fans hope for an early impact from Joshua Zirkzee at Old Trafford, they only have to look to his first minutes in a Bayern Munich shirt five years ago.
At the time, the then-18-year-old forward was used in some of Hansi Flick’s first games as Bayern manager in a season in which the Bavarians would go on and win the Treble of Bundesliga, German Cup and Champions League.
Despite not being a regular, Zirkzee played a key role in their domestic league success.
In December 2019, Bayern sat fifth in the table and looked to be slipping further off the pace as they were being held 1-1 at Freiburg heading into the 90th minute.
Zirkzee was sent on, and it only took 104 seconds for the Dutchman to make a huge impact on his Bundesliga bow, slotting home a pass from Serge Gnabry, who would also score in injury time to seal Bayern’s 3-1 victory.
Only a few days later Zirkzee came off the bench and to their rescue again, at home to Wolfsburg. This time it took him 149 seconds to find the breakthrough in the 85th minute, before Gnabry added another in a 2-0 win.
Zirkzee’s sudden emergence on the international stage was the reward for a journey which started in 2007 back at local club VV Hekelingen in Spijkenisse, before a stint at Spartaan ’20 got him in at the books of professional side ADO den Haag.
After three years he moved to the academy of Feyenoord, with the youngster developing into a versatile forward in his formative years, with a very good eye for a goal.
