Pre-season shock and £36m deal give Manchester United chance to spring tactical surprise

It was a low-key introduction to life at Manchester United for Joshua Zirkzee, who was put through his paces at a quiet Carrington on Monday. The forward will spend his first week building up his fitness before finally acquainting himself with his new teammates when they return from the United States next week.

The £36.5m signing could make his debut against Manchester City in the Community Shield and it will be fascinating to see how he is used. He is primarily a striker and if Rasmus Hojlund's injury rules him out then Zirkzee is a natural replacement for the Dane.

Erik ten Hag has talked up how the 23-year-old offers something different in the front line. He has built a United attack focused on the running in behind. Hojlund, Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho are all at their best when they do that and it is a team built to play on the break.

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Zirkzee could offer a counterpoint to that, however, and what Ten Hag has said about the former Bayern Munich youngster suggests he could be used in tandem with Hojlund, perhaps offering a different approach when getting in behind a deep defence isn't so easy.

During his career, with Bologna, Anderlecht and Bayern Munich, he has played as a deeper second striker and on the right a couple of times. While Hojlund is a pure No.9, Zirkzee offers more versatility.

"He is a player who can link up the game, who can be available, hold up the ball, have good ideas, be creative, can dribble, [make] combinations," Ten Hag said.

"So that's a different type and always what we are looking for, so it gives us more