'Difficult': Manchester United legend warns Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund they must be in the top four

Dwight Yorke believes Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund are good players, but they won't take Manchester United to the next level.

Man United They had a slow start to the season, with their 1-0 win over Fulham followed by back-to-back defeats to Brighton and Liverpool.

With Hojlund sidelined through injury, substitute Zirkzee scored Manchester United's winner against the Cottagers in his first appearance for the club since joining from Bologna for £35.8m.

Then, accidentally, his team's goal against Brighton was ruled out after he kneed Alejandro Garnacho into the net while he was offside.

Former United striker Yorke believes Zirkzee's start at Old Trafford has been encouraging but warned he and Hojlund may not be the strikers to lead the Red Devils back to glory.

Asked what advice he would give Zirkzee, Yorke said: talkSPORT's Inside Devils show“I think it's encouraging that he's getting the chance to score. I think if he went into a game and didn't get the chances, that would be even more devastating for the lad.

“So it's encouraging, he scored his first goal and had a couple of chances against Liverpool. But he's a striker, and every striker who has played at the highest level is chance-based.”

“If you don't take advantage of those opportunities, you're not going to score. But if you keep getting opportunities and keep trying, you're likely to score a goal at some point.”

“But I would say that is positive and encouraging.

“I'm not sure yet, I would say with United attacking, with the forwards at the moment, I think right now, where United are, they are buying players to finish fourth.

“What I mean by that is that the players they are bringing in are good players, they are not bad. But they are not the elite players that United are normally associated with. So we will get the kind of performances we need to get back into the top four.”

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Manchester United finished eighth in the Premier League last season, qualifying for Europe only thanks to their FA Cup triumph.

The last time they finished in the top four was in the 2022/23 season, in which they finished third.

However, the last time Manchester United had a striker or any player win the Premier League golden boot was in 2012/13, with Robin van Persie scoring 26 league goals.

That was also the last time United won the title.

Yorke continued: “If you look at Zirkzee, he comes in, he's not a starter in Holland. Rasmus is a starter, the Euros weren't particularly good for him, so it shows the kind of work they had to do.

“On top of all that, you are playing in a team that doesn’t have much confidence, that makes it even more difficult. It’s good when you come to a team that controls possession, dominates teams, creates chances, then you fit in perfectly.

“At the moment, United are not doing that. They are really struggling. So, although these players are great players in their own right, they are not going to take the team to that other level that we all hope United will reach.

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“For me, it's a bit worrying and it's going to take us a bit more time to get where we want to be. It's going to be a bit difficult, simply because the team is not consistent in its game, the identity that we mentioned is not yet completely secure.

“That doubt is still there in the back of your mind and if you are not playing particularly well and not taking advantage of your opportunities, you are in for a tough season.”

Yorke played for Manchester United from 1998 to 2002 and won the treble with Sir Alex Ferguson in 1999.

He scored 66 goals and provided 32 assists in 152 appearances.

Manchester United take on Southampton at St Mary's this Saturday, exclusively Live on talkSPORT.

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