Joshua Zirkzee’s frustration with his current situation at Manchester United has reached a point where he is looking for an exit route in January.

Zirkzee was an unused substitute in the 2-0 win over Sunderland on Saturday, the fourth time in seven Premier League games this season that he has failed to get off the bench.

The 24-year-old featured in 21 successive league games after Ruben Amorim arrived last season before a hamstring injury away at Newcastle curtailed his campaign, so there is a great deal of confusion on Zirkzee’s end as to how he has fallen so far down the pecking order.

Confidential understands the player is deeply frustrated at his situation, and a move in the January transfer window is seen as absolutely crucial if he is to force his way back into the reckoning for the Netherlands’ World Cup squad next summer. He has been left out of Ronald Koeman’s squad for the upcoming qualifiers against Malta and Finland.

Napoli desperately wanted Zirkzee in the summer but United had no interest in allowing him to leave, and the Italians pivoted to his rival for the No 9 shirt last season, Rasmus Hojlund, on a loan with an obligation to buy.

Juventus were another club who were very interested in signing Zirkzee on loan, while PSV Eindhoven wanted to take him back to the Netherlands.

Zirkzee bounced back well last season following a humiliating first-half substitution against Newcastle at Old Trafford in December which left him on the brink of tears.

He became a go-to player in the No 10 role, but now finds himself sixth or seventh choice in that position behind summer signings Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha, Mason Mount, Amad Diallo, Bruno Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo.

Chido Obi’s return to the academy setup after he played eight times for the first team last season may see United dig in to keep Zirkzee as back-up, in case anything happens to first-choice striker and £74m summer signing Benjamin Sesko.

But there is no doubt that Zirkzee’s frustration has escalated significantly in recent weeks, and now his only chance to salvage a season that could cost him a spot at the World Cup appears to be by trying to secure a move away in January.

An exit then would come just 18 months after his £43m arrival from Bologna last year. He has seven goals for United in 53 games in all competitions.

Harry in a hurry

Is Harry Maguire’s retrial finally going ahead more than five years after his arrest on the Greek island of Mykonos? The long-awaited court hearing is due to begin in Syros on Wednesday morning, but only time will tell if it does after three previous postponements.

Maguire doesn’t have to attend court, but Confidential understands the 32-year-old’s defence team is in place and ready to fight to clear his name.

The player was arrested in August 2020 following a brawl on a family holiday, and convicted of assaulting a police officer and attempted bribery.

He was handed a 21-month suspended sentence, but the conviction was automatically quashed on appeal under Greek law. The retrial was first put back in May 2023 because Maguire’s defence counsel was unavailable, then in February 2024 due to the Greek lawyers’ strike, and again in March of this year.

The United star is currently having some time away with his family during the international break after once again being overlooked by England boss Thomas Tuchel for the games against Wales and Latvia.

Maguire hasn’t played for his country for 13 months since he was selected by caretaker boss Lee Carsley to face Ireland in September last year.

£10m Saudi jackpot

United could bank more than £10m if they strike a deal to visit Saudi Arabia this season, according to industry sources.

United are looking at ways to fill gaps in the calendar – and a black hole in the club’s finances – by arranging mid-season friendlies, with Saudi one of the options under discussion.

Defeat to Tottenham in last season’s Europa League final in Bilbao cost United £100m for failing to reach the Champions League, including a £10m repayment due to adidas under the terms of a £900m shirt sponsorship.

United earned £8m from a post-season trip to Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong in May, and could rake in even more from a visit to Saudi during Riyadh Season, which gets underway on Friday and runs until March.

The General Entertainment Authority (GEA), headed by Turki Alalshikh, released an initial schedule on Monday and there is a gap for a high-profile football event.

One of the three options open to United would be to take part in the Riyadh Season Cup, a three-way tournament against the capital’s two biggest clubs, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr and Darwin Nunez’s Al-Hilal, which featured Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami in February.

United would be expected to earn around £5m per game plus more in prize money if they win, and additional revenue from commercial opportunities during an extended stay in Saudi.

Another option is a shorter visit to play an exhibition game against a Saudi All-Star team, similar to the one involving Paris Saint-Germain in January 2023, which would be worth closer to £5m.

United could also arrange a visit with the Saudi royal family or GEA to hold a warm-weather training camp in Riyadh and play of one-off game – most likely against Ronaldo and Al-Nassr – which would again earn the club around £5m.

It’s substantially more than the £1m United banked in January 2008 when Sir Alex Ferguson took a side featuring Ronaldo to Saudi to play Al-Hilal in a testimonial for Sami Al-Jaber, losing 3-2.

Any of the options open to United are likely to involve the oil-rich state picking up the tab for travel, accommodation and warm-weather training facilities.

Being without any European football for only the second time in 35 years has left United with plenty of space in the calendar – a problem not helped by going out of the Carabao Cup at the first hurdle to League Two Grimsby Town. There are more than three months between the defeat on penalties in Cleethorpes and the next midweek game, against West Ham in early December.

Under 21s snub makes no sense

For United’s Under 21s to be the only team in Premier League 2 with a 100 per cent winning record and not to have a single player nominated for player of the month in September seems extremely odd.

Tottenham, third in the table after five wins and one defeat, have two nominees – as do Fulham who are fifth with four wins and a draw, having played one fewer game so far.

Arsenal, who are down in ninth, have Andre Harriman-Annous nominated. Brighton, in seventh, have Joe Belmont among the nominees, while second-placed Ipswich Town and fourth-placed Southampton round out the eight-man shortlist.

Strange then, that United don’t have a nominee despite winning all six of their matches. Jack Fletcher and Jayce Fitzgerald have both started the season impressively, as has the versatile midfielder Jacob Devaney, who Confidential can reveal is being closely watched by a number of Premier League rivals as well as a handful of top European sides.

Shea Lacey, who recently scored a stunning brace off the bench in a 4-1 win over Crystal Palace, is another to have been overlooked.

It’s Janusz not Januzaj!

It did not escape eagle-eyed fans of United’s academy that there was a new name on the bench for the Under 21s away at Everton on Friday night.

Adrian Janusz – no, you read that right – was among the substitutes and Confidential understands the free-agent goalkeeper is currently on trial. United recently had a look at UAE stopper Abdulla Al-Hammadi over a number of weeks but he did not sign a deal.

Polish 19-year-old Janusz has bounced around clubs having had spells at Newcastle United – where he trained with the first team on occasion – and Brentford, as well as non-league stints with Gateshead and Ashington.

Reds scan new deal

Some corporate partnerships are of more practical use to United than others, and Tuesday’s announcement that a decade-long collaboration with Canon Medical Systems has been extended for another three years will further improve the medical facilities at Carrington after the training ground underwent a £50m revamp.

The Japanese company have been providing cardiac, musculoskeletal, and general sports medicine imaging for United since 2013, and the club’s existing range of MRI, ultrasound, and healthcare IT systems are now set to be upgraded.

It means United’s medical staff will have access to state-of-the-art technology to scan players and diagnose injuries in a way that wasn’t possible during the recent rebuild – when new signing Diego Leon was pictured bumping into then-Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne while doing part of his medical at a local clinic this summer.

The advanced diagnostic imaging will also help with research into injury detection and treatment that will be shared across the healthcare industry.

Duncan’s the big draw

This is the sketch of Duncan Edwards by renowned artist Paul Trevillion that will be auctioned off at the charity fundraiser for the Manchester Munich Memorial Foundation at Old Trafford on October 17.

Trevillion, who has signed the piece, rates it as his best work of one of the Busby Babes.

He is due to speak on stage at the event which has raised nearly £65,000 over the past two years for good causes in the North West, Munich and Belgrade, where the Babes had played their final game before the tragedy.

Foundation all booked up

The Manchester United Foundation have teamed up with the Children’s Book Project to help give young people from across the region the opportunity to own books and develop a love of reading.

Launched at Hotel Football on Monday, the initiative means the 70 secondary, primary and special educational needs schools that work in partnership with the foundation, and any other schools that sign up, will have the chance to receive up to £7,000 worth of books which will be gifted to students through events across the academic year.

The foundation’s office on Sir Matt Busby Way, a stone’s throw from Old Trafford, will be a drop-off point for members of the public to donate books which will be distributed across the school network and local community at book drives throughout the year.

The Children’s Book Project are aiming to gift one million books to youngsters from under-privileged areas around the country to celebrate the 2026 National Year of Reading.

On yer bike, Mike

He has learned to change lanes at regular intervals over the years at United as his responsibilities veered between outlining plans for the new stadium and getting a signed shirt for the Pope, and now highly-regarded head of corporate communications Michael Gibson has swapped Old Trafford for the world of MotoGP.

Gibson’s last day at United was Thursday, before moving to Madrid where he will head up the motorcycle sport’s global communications strategy.

His achievements at United include leading the project to erect a statue of Jimmy Murphy behind the Stretford End, the introduction of warm winter hubs at Old Trafford for vulnerable members of the community, and organising the unveiling of the new stadium plans at Foster + Partners in London in March.

He was also responsible for coming up with an innovative plan to scatter ashes at Old Trafford and the idea to send a United shirt signed by Lisandro Martinez to Pope Francis, a big fan of Argentinean football, when Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham visited the Vatican.