Gary Neville has questioned if Ruben Amorim rates Manchester United forwards Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkee. The forwards, who cost more than £100m combined, were both benched for Sunday’s Premier League clash against Crystal Palace as Amorim opted not to play a recognised striker. Instead, England midfielder Kobbie Mainoo was asked to lead the line in a move that had little success. Neville believes it was a mistake for Amorim not to start Hojlund or Zirkzee even if he ‘might not like’ the struggling forwards.

Hojlund has scored just two league goals this season and has generally underwhelmed following his £72m move from Atalanta in 2023. Zirkzee has also endured a torrid time at Old Trafford since joining from Bologna last summer in a deal worth £36.5m. The defeat to Crystal Palace was Manchester United’s 11th of the Premier League season and Neville admits the team have ‘got a lot worse’ since Amorim replaced Erik ten Hag in November.

Asked about Amorim’s surprising team selection against Palace, Neville said on his Sky Sports podcast: ‘The only thing I can think is that it’s one of two things. ‘Maybe it’s experimenting to the point whereby he’s just trying to find a solution that works and he likes and a system he wants to play. Or he doesn’t like the strikers he’s got. ‘When I saw the teamsheet, I thought Fernandes would play in that position or Garnacho. When I saw Kobbie up there, everything has to be absolutely perfect.

‘From Palace’s point of view, they would fancy that because there’s no real goalscorer in the team. ‘I’m not saying if Hojlund was up there they’d panic but at least then there’s a physical presence. Zirzkee is a big lad. ‘I’m not saying they’re brilliant these players but when I saw the team I thought Palace will fancy this and I can’t really see how United will score. Where’s it going to come from? If a team doesn’t look like it quite often isn’t right.

‘I thought it would get better when Ruben Amorim came in, I thought they’d buy into his enthusiasm and the system. ‘We’ve seen the absolute opposite, it’s got a lot worse and that’s surprising. There’s going to be a lot more pain towards the end of the season I think. ‘They’re obviously going to stick with Amorim but the more you lose the harder it becomes for the players to buy into the manager and his ideas. You can’t keep losing, it will depress the players and make them lose faith.

‘He has to do something but he can’t change his approach now. He won’t be enjoying this but I think he’s got to simplify it, while he might not like Hojlund, he might not think Zirkzee is great, he might not like other players, but he’s got to pick the players he has, the players he’s been served. ‘It can’t keep going on as it is, they need to start to play better but where is that coming from? At this moment in time it’s a very sorry situation watching Manchester United play.’.

Due to his struggles, Zirzkee was even linked with a move away from United during the January transfer window. Manchester United are also, for the first time, coming around to the idea that Hojlund may need to be offloaded in the summer and replaced by a new striker. Mainoo started as a striker for the Red Devils as England forward Marcus Rashford, brutally frozen out by Amorim, was completing a loan move to Aston Villa.