Joshua Zirkzee’s unseen reaction to Man Utd fans cheering his substitution emerges from source inside the Old Trafford tunnel

A source inside the Old Trafford tunnel spotted Joshua Zirkzee’s reaction to being substituted during the first half of Manchester United’s Premier League match against Newcastle on Monday.

Zirkzee, 23, was withdrawn during the 33rd-minute of proceedings at Old Trafford with the score at 2-0 to the visitors after Alexander Isak opened the scoring just four minutes in before Joelinton doubled the away side's advantage on 19 minutes.

The Red Devils were outplayed by Eddie Howe’s side during the first half of the game, and Ruben Amorim made the drastic decision to replace Zirkzee with midfielder Kobbie Mainoo with 12 first-half minutes still to play.

Given the unusual nature of an unforced first-half change, fans inside the stadium reacted with sarcastic cheers before the forward put his coat on and walked down the touchline toward the tunnel.

Shortly after, the former Bologna man joined the United staff in the dugout.

However, an inside source has revealed what Zirkzee did while in the tunnel.

Joshua Zirkzee was withdrawn during the first half (Credit:Getty)

"He had tears in his eyes and had to be brought back,” said journalist Raphael Honigstein, who was reporting for Sky Germany.

Former United captain turned pundit Gary Neville voiced his sympathy for Zirkzee while commentating.

"I actually feel sorry for Joshua Zirkzee," Neville said on Sky Sports.

"I know that he's earning a lot of money, but there's a human being in there that's basically being cheered off by his own fans.

"That is brutal. I've not seen that too many times at Old Trafford in the 43 years I've been coming here."

"He’s had enough and I actually don’t blame him, [it's] a massive embarrassment," he added.

"I hope some of the fans down there give him a little something. He hasn’t played well let’s be clear, they’ve all been absolutely awful."

Since arriving at United in the summer of 2024, for a reported £36.54m (as per BBC Sport), the forward has struggled to find form and has netted just three times in 19 Premier League games with two goals coming in the 4-0 win against Everton on December 1. His other strike came on his debut when United beat Fulham 1-0 at Old Trafford on the opening night of the 2024/25 season back in August.