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Joshua Zirkzee revealed his true character after Manchester United's 2-1 triumph over Liverpool . The 24-year-old striker has recently been touted for a potential departure, but was amongst the first players to revel in the victory at Anfield on Sunday evening. Despite remaining on the bench throughout, Zirkzee dismissed any notion of discontent when he sprinted onto the pitch at the final whistle. As the Netherlands international approached his colleagues, Bruno Fernandes playfully attempted to put him in a headlock before chest-bumping with Noussair Mazraoui. The Sky Sports cameras then captured Zirkzee, who couldn't remove the beaming grin from his face, embracing Senne Lammens. A clip of the touching moment became viral across social media, with United supporters flooding the post to voice their admiration for the Dutchman. One supporter posted on X: "Love the guy. I feel bad that he's not playing more but that's the situation we're in. Hopefully we can string together a few wins/momentum and he'll be able to get more minutes. He's a joy to watch." "His time will come, he might have to be patient and I know that's hard but he's what we need in the squad right now," commented another, whilst a third added: "Zirkzee is such a good team player. Look at how happy he is for his teammates. Amazing personality he has." Zirkzee, who United snapped up from Bologna for £36.5m last year, has endured a rather uncertain period of late. Ever since Ruben Amorim took over from Erik ten Hag in the hot seat, the forward has found it tough to cement his place in the starting XI. This campaign, he's managed just three Premier League appearances, with each outing coming as a substitute. Despite clocking up merely 82 minutes across all competitions, Zirkzee seems determined to fight for his United future amid speculation over a January departure - and clearly hasn't lost any passion for the club. The Dutchman, who's evidently well-liked amongst his teammates, will be desperate for a chance when United take on Brighton at Old Trafford this weekend. Prior to the Liverpool encounter, Amorim was quizzed about whether he understood why Zirkzee, along with Kobbie Mainoo , might feel frustrated by their limited playing time. The United chief responded: "That is normal. I also know that in our club everything is a lot of noise. You have to have news. Players are not playing. They want to play. Like you said, there's a World Cup. "There are agents that listen to the players talking all the time. So I understand that, but they are our players and we need everyone to have a good season." Amorim has previously stated his desire to retain Zirkzee, though he's yet to follow through on those words. Chatting to talkSPORT at the beginning of the year, the Reds manager revealed: "I want to keep Josh because he gives everything and he's trying in training but we don't know. "The window is open and we will see what happens. We just need to focus on training and to take this for the other games. It's just one point so let's focus on the performance for the next games." Back in April, Amorim sang Zirkzee's praises. : "Yes, he's doing a great job. Also a very important thing was the way the fans react after that incident. "So if you see, every time, even if Josh is not playing, every time he gets on the pitch or just warming up, our fans sing the Josh song. So that is massive for the player, so it's 50-50. Fifty per cent part of the fans and 50 per cent of Josh." Speaking about supporting Zirkzee as he settles in, Amorim continued: "I explained the situation because, as a former player, I wanted to hear some explanation sometimes from the coaches and I am really open that. "I just want to help the team and then work with him. With all the work that all the staff is doing with him he's improving, and then I put him to play. This is the only way to show confidence to the player." Join our new MAN UTD WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Manchester United content from Mirror Football. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
