Joshua Zirkzee's dream Manchester United shirt number could impact Rasmus Hojlund

Joshua Zirkzee isn't fussed about what squad number he'll wear at Manchester United for the upcoming season and fully expects Rasmus Hojlund to snag the coveted No. 9 jersey.

After sealing a transfer from Italy , Zirkzee is set on joining his new teammates in August following some well-deserved downtime post-season. The Dutch hotshot grabbed a spot in the Netherlands' Euro 2024 line-up at the eleventh hour, contributing to their stellar run to the semifinals. That late international duty means he'll be hooking up with the Red Devils slightly later than the rest.

With eyes firmly set on bolstering their front line this summer, United saw Zirkzee as the perfect fit especially after he finished last term as Bologna's leading marksman with a tidy haul of 11 league strikes, implying he could raise the bar for United's attack and vie with Hojlund for the starting role in the Premier League .

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The club's media team dropped Zirkzee's premiere interview earlier this week, and the player has already had a chinwag with Dutch YouTube channel Matchday since penning the deal. Reflecting on his big move, Zirkzee recounted how talks ramped up during his time in Germany for Euro 2024. He said: "I had a conversation in Wolfsburg. My father was there too because he is there for everything.

"After that conversation, I immediately had a good feeling. Then the choice was actually already made. The European Championship was number one anyway, United also thought that was important. That was where the focus had to be. So that was doable."

Zirkzee's shirt number hasn't been confirmed by United, but he is an incredibly laidback character and admitted he is relaxed about which number he's given in the new season. Anthony Martial departed United on a free transfer this summer and vacated the No. 9 shirt, which Zirkzee expects Hojlund to take.

"That depends a bit on Rasmus Hojlund. He's already there and he's also a striker," he said when asked whether he knew his shirt number. "No.9 is free, but yeah... He has 11, so I can imagine that he wants No.9 now. In that case I'll take 11. At Bologna I also had 11, so that doesn't really matter to me."

Liverpool.com says: It's just a jersey number, it doesn't really matter! What does matter is what Zirkzee does on the pitch this coming season. He'd probably wear the No. 99 if it meant scoring a hat full of goals for Liverpool's big rival.