'He should've joined AC Milan' - Ruud Gullit makes Manchester United transfer statement

Joshua Zirkzee has struggled to get going at Manchester United after a summer move from Bologna, with Ruud Gullit fearing the forward will become the latest high-profile player to flop at Old Trafford

Ruud Gullit has expressed his belief that Joshua Zirkzee is a talented player, but he insisted he may struggle to perform well at Manchester United. The Dutch forward made the switch to Old Trafford in the summer following an impressive season with Bologna in Serie A.

This led to interest from several top European clubs, but it was Manchester United who secured his signature. Despite scoring a late winner on his debut against Fulham, Zirkzee has since failed to find the back of the net.

United have also yet to identify a position where the versatile forward can excel, which could be indicative of their own - and Erik ten Hag's - tactical issues. Gullit would have preferred to see his fellow countryman stay in Italy and join AC Milan, but Zirkzee chose to move to the Premier League giants.

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Gullit fears that United, a club known for its high-profile flops, may not be the best environment for Zirkzee. Speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport, Gullit said: "Zirkzee would have done better to say yes to Milan instead of moving to Manchester United in England. Now instead he is at a club that has so many problems. He's good, no doubt about that, but at United, it's hard to do well."

Over the years, many big-name players who have excelled elsewhere have moved to Old Trafford and failed to meet expectations. For example, Angel di Maria was signed for a large sum but failed to deliver and was sold after just one year.

The performance of recent high-profile signings at United, such as Jadon Sancho and Alexis Sanchez, have been underwhelming, leaving the club's culture exposed to criticism for falling far from the standards set during Sir Alex Ferguson's reign. Last year, Gary Neville spoke out about the persistent underachievement of top players at Old Trafford: "There are very few players that excel at Manchester United in this last ten years," he pointed out.

"They were all great players when they came to the club, they were all wanted by other clubs."

He added: "They won these players off other clubs and then they end up coming to Manchester United and they end up not succeeding and not performing to their levels, why is that? It's because it's not culturally correct to accept players in the way that it should do and we (United) need to get that right."