Manchester United striker Benjamin Sesco has divided opinion at the beginning of his Old Trafford journey. The 22-year-old joined United from RB Leipzig in the recent summer transfer window in a deal worth £73.7m.
The Red Devils lured Champions League side Newcastle to sign Sesco, but Arsenal also showed interest in the forward before deciding to sign Victor Gokeres from Sporting instead. Sesco initially struggled in the M16, failing to find the back of the net in the first six games under coach Ruben Amorim.
However, the Slovenian has since discovered his scoring ability with two strikes in his last two games. Amorim will be keen to silence his frontman’s doubters. Sunday’s clash with Premier League champions Liverpool will be the ideal stage to prove his quality.
That being said, here we take a look at some of the United icons who are causing concern regarding Sesco, even as his performances in Amorim’s side have improved.
Rio Ferdinand
Rio Ferdinand admitted in September that he was concerned about Sesco’s quiet start to life at the Red Devils.
Appearing on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, the former United and England centre-back said: “The one I’m worried about is Sesco. It’s not that he doesn’t have a chance, it’s not that he doesn’t have a chance, nothing is being built for him.”
“That’s the concern. When a new striker comes to a football club and joins the team, you have to think about creating chances for him. You have to think about getting him to the end of things. He has to think about being at the end of things.”
“I think that needs to be looked at and fixed right away. I don’t want to think about the consequences of that.”
nicky butt
Former midfielder Nicky Butt raised concerns last month that United had made a mistake in bringing in Sesco rather than an “experienced striker”.
Asked for his thoughts on United’s summer transfer activity, Butt told BetMGM: “I was and I wasn’t. I know (Mateus) Cunha has done very well over the last few seasons, but I really want an experienced striker.”
“I hope I’m wrong, but I really hope they don’t make the same mistake with[Benjamin]Sesco as they did with Rasmus[Hoylund]. We’ve got young players coming in with no Premier League experience and it just feels like history repeating itself.”
“Honestly, at any cost, I would have brought in a player like Ollie Watkins to help get the young strikers out of the bad spots.When young players are new to the club and the responsibility is on them to score goals, they have to have a safety net that if they have a few bad games they can be pulled out.
“I would have liked to have had Ollie Watkins or something like that.”
peter schmeichel
Former goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel has slammed United’s decision to bring in Sesco while letting Rasmus Højlund leave in a summer deal as “bizarre”.
“Signing Benjamin Sesko was a bit strange for me because we have Rasmus Højlund who hasn’t had a job for two years,” Schmeichel said on the BBC podcast Sacked in the Morning.
“You just look at him playing at Napoli with Kevin De Bruyne and Scott McTominay – he’s scoring goals. I’ve been saying this consistently for two and a half years – Rasmus Heylund will be a 25-goal-a-year striker at Manchester United, but he needs his services.”
“We let him go based on the statistics that he hardly scored last season, and we bring in Sesco as well as bring in Matheus Cunha and Brian Mbuemo, who will provide a first-class service to Hodjlund.
“We don’t have the number six we need and we also have the goalkeeper position and we end up spending over £70 million on Sesco.”
Paul Scholes
Former United midfielder Paul Scholes has also questioned Sesco’s arrival, similar to the situation with Hojlund.
“Look, Rasmus Hjølund is 22 years old and he came in when he was 20,” Scholes said on the podcast “The Good, the Bad and the Football.”
“Manchester United have one centre-forward, but everything was on him, the pressure was on and he couldn’t cope with it. He should be moving in and out of the team. There should be three or four centre-forwards there.”
“What are they going to do this summer? They let him go and buy another one that’s very similar, exactly the same. He’s 22 years old. He’s started well and looks like he’s getting better. But where’s the common sense in that?”
roy keene
Roy Keane is still not completely convinced by Sesco, but admits he needs patience. Speaking to Sky Sports in early September, he said: “It’s too early to talk[about Sesco].
“Yeah, I think sometimes when there’s a lot of speculation, you realize how much a lot of players have missed pre-season training. Maybe it looks like he’s not up to speed yet, but yeah, it’s still undecided. Give this kid a chance.”
