Sir Jim Ratcliffe is convinced a struggling Manchester United star will ‘come good’ eventually despite a difficult begin to life within the Premier League.
United are enduring one among the worst seasons of their history, languishing down in 14th within the table, with the Europa League their only likelihood of winning silverware or qualifying for Europe.
This can be the primary full season since Ratcliffe and INEOS’ minority takeover of the club, which has come under much scrutiny from fans and pundits.
The recruitment on the pitch has been underwhelming to say the least, with over £200million spent on seven signings including Matthijs de Ligt, Manuel Ugarte and Patrick Dorgu.
Perhaps probably the most heavily criticised purchase is centre-forward Joshua Zirkzee, who cost £36m from Bologna and has scored just six goals in 42 appearances.
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The 23-year-old’s poor form saw him neglected of the newest Netherlands squad and he endured one other difficult game on Sunday as United drew 1-1 with Arsenal.
It has even been speculated that he could make a swift return to a club in Serie A, but in an interview with Gary Neville for Sky Sports, Ratfcliffe insisted the forward’s time would come at Old Trafford.
‘Look how Zirkzee got knocked about yesterday within the first-half, he really did get knocked about didn’t he?’, the 72-year-old said.
‘He wouldn’t have been used to that playing within the Italian league. It takes time for players to settle.’
Asked by Neville if he thought those signed last summer like Zirkzee would ‘come good’ for the Red Devils, Ratcliffe replied: ‘Yes, yes I do.
‘But keep in mind we didn’t have the luxurious of time to arrange for last summer. Jason [Wilcox, technical director] had been there three weeks, Omar [Berrada, CEO] three days.
‘We had the issue with the coach [Erik ten Hag] – “Is it a yes or no? Are we involving the coach or not involving the coach?”.
‘He didn’t sign [those players] but he did have a voice, which is why we [signed some] Dutch players.’
Ratcliffe would go onto admit he had made a ‘mistake’ by not sacking Ten Hag following the FA Cup final win last season, with the Dutch manager dismissed last October but only after he had been handed a brand new contract.
‘It was the flawed decision. We made the flawed decision. It was an error. I suppose in that sense I regret it,’ he added.
‘It was quite difficult to extract in that season once we arrived, Erik’s performance from the structure around him. Difficult to see what environment Erik was operating in.
‘Was it, in other words, was the erratic performance a function of Erik, or was it a function of the organisation? And we couldn’t really resolve answering that query with certainty, I suppose, so we gave Erik the advantage of the doubt.’
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