The role of a footballer was traditionally just described in 3 simple terms – defender, midfielder and attacker. However the use of numbers has slowly creeped into our everyday psyche. A number 6 or a number 10 better describes the role and attributes of a midfielder rather than just lumping them all together.
So when Joshua Zirkzee in his opening introduction to Manchester United fans described himself as a 9.5 many people were left scratching their heads as to exactly what he means by this.
While simple deduction will tell you a 9.5 is someone who is not a 10 nor a 9, there’s a little more to it than that.
The player himself.
Arriving from Bologna in the summer, Joshua Zirkzee joined the club for a fee of around £36m (a release clause in his contract).
Enthused by the uncharacteristically fast action in the transfer market, many fans flocked to his player profile to see what kind of impressive numbers caused United to act so swiftly in the market…
Presented with the statistics of just 11 goals in 34 appearances, it would not be remiss to say many fans were left a little underwhelmed by the signing who was sold by Bayern Munich just one year ago.
So what made Manchester United sign Zirkzee?
With the departure of Anthony Martial in the summer, a new striker was always going to be high on the priority list of new owners INEOS. The challenge is to find value and an alternative profile to Hojlund in what I can only describe as a poor pool of players in the available striker market. Joshua Zirkzee provides that.
The role of the 9.5
As a 9.5, the role of Zirkzee is heavily centred around dropping deeper, linking up play, and arriving later into the box.
This was perhaps best on display in Manchester United’s 3-0 win over Southampton in gameweek 3 of the Premier League.
Constantly dropping off the last line of attack caused headaches for Southampton’s centre backs who didn’t know whether to follow him into midfield or hold their defensive shape.
This confusion can then lead to spaces in behind Zirkzee for either the two wingers or an advancing midfielder (Bruno, Mainoo or even Casemiro).
The role of the 9.5 is exactly as it sounds in that the player adopts qualities of both a 9 and a 10, a striker and a playmaker.
While Zirkzee is yet to find his real shooting boots, the fact he consistently finds himself in these shooting positions should be seen as a real positive for United fans.
As always I like to provide an example of an existing player to give more context and understanding of the role and player profile. Perhaps the best example of a ‘9.5’ we have seen in previous years is Bobby Firmino at rivals Liverpool.
Often viewed as not a great goal scorer, Firmino facilitated a deadly duo of wingers in Mane and Salah helping them both thrive. It was often only when Firmino dropped from the side it was noticed how sorely he was missed.
I think this is exactly the profile you can expect from Zirkzee. A facilitator that will extract the most value out of what is now a great crop of United wingers in Amad, Garnacho and Rashford.
Don’t expect Zirkzee to pull up trees with his numbers in front of goal, but keep an eye on how those around him link up and thrive with his presence. Exciting times.
Football Rambling Daily 