Ruben Amorim told to follow Sir Alex Ferguson and immediately sell Man Utd star

Ruben Amorim should take a leaf out of Sir Alex Ferguson’s book by offloading Joshua Zirkzee in the January transfer window, according to Ben Foster.

Zirkzee was brutally substituted after just 33 minutes in Manchester United’s 2-0 defeat by Newcastle as Amorim tried to claw back some control in midfield by bringing on Kobbie Mainoo. The £36million summer signing didn’t react well to the decision, initially disappearing straight down the tunnel before re-emerging to watch the rest of the game.

Amorim expressed sympathy with Zirkzee after the match but said he “needed” to take him off. However, Foster spent five years under the management of Ferguson at United and feels that the legendary Scottish boss wouldn’t have accepted Zirkzee’s behaviour.

“When he walked off down the tunnel… If Alex Ferguson would have been manager, that player would have been done,” the ex-goalkeeper said on his YouTube channel.

“Whoever that is, if you walk off that pitch when you’ve been brought off after 30 minutes, get a coat and walk straight into the dressing room. You’re done. I promise you, you’re done. It just doesn’t work like that.

“And I guarantee you, when he got back to the changing room, somebody would have said to him, ‘You need to get back outside. This is not a good look… The camera has just watched you walk all the way down the line, the fans are booing’.

“It is a horrible situation. I really feel for him. At that moment in time, the atmosphere in Old Trafford was horrible. United were getting pumped. They were on the back foot and it was almost like he was the scapegoat. He was just one of 11 problems on that pitch.”

The incident further highlighted the 23-year-old’s slow start at Old Trafford since his summer arrival, with just four goals scored in 27 appearances so far. Zirkzee has been linked with an exit from United just months after his arrival from Bologna, with Italian sides Juventus and Napoli said to be interested in his signature.

A reunion with his former Bologna coach Thiago Motta at Juve has been mooted and sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli didn’t exactly rule out that possibility, stating: "Zirkzee? It's not appropriate to mention names, but we are keeping an eye on any interesting opportunities, and we will move to strengthen the defence.”

However, United are very unlikely to sanction such a swift exit for Zirkzee, with Marcus Rashford the forward who has been earmarked to depart this month instead. "Josh is a really good lad," Amorim said after the Newcastle loss. "We will support him and keep going.”