Manchester United met Arsenal at Old Trafford on Sunday, with Benjamin Sesco joining the club’s new centre forward.
Benjamin Sesco may be wondering what happened when Manchester United host Arsenal was on Sunday. The £74 million striker could have made his Red Devils debut, but if things were different, he could have lined up for those looking to Mikel Arteta’s title.
Sesko eventually moved from RB Leipzig to the Premier League, becoming the third most expensive forward signed by the Red Devils this summer after £62.5 million Matthews Kuña and £71 million Brian Mbeumo. It is the attack that Ruben Amorim has locked the much improved campaign into United’s hopes.
But early in the summer, the 22-year-old came in first place on Arsenal’s striker target list. However, the gunner was eventually drawn out of the move and banished the total cost of bringing him to North London when considering the player’s transfer fees, pay and agent costs. Eventually they settled on the players Amorim was very well known and was deeply connected to Viktor Gyoker’s move to Old Trafford.
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“Viktor is in another league,” Amorim responded when asked at a pre-match press conference on Friday about the Swedes who scored 97 goals in 102 Lisbon matches before sportsing Lisbon before moving £64 million to the Emirates. “Sports is doing good scouting because they live from players they can buy and sell to survive.
“I think he’s a very good player. It’s not surprising to see him at a big club in England.”
Whether they want to be or not, the transfer window this summer and Amorim’s presence as United’s head coach means that Sesco and Gyoker are closely linked throughout their time in the Premier League. Over the next few months and potentially years, fans and critics will almost certainly wonder who the winners and losers were in their respective deals.
Was Arsenal’s decision not to sign Sesco and gyoker?
For him, Amorim is not worried about his new No. 30. The truth is that United’s scouting staff moved to Sesco – there was a claim that Gyoker disappointed that his former boss didn’t call – because they’re looking at the players on the overall ceiling. And that’s what Amorim has already impressed within a week.
“I think he has great potential in everything he does,” Amorim said. “He can play different kinds of football. He feels that the Premier League is really offensive and he’s going to learn, but he has great potential and I know Ben has been a Manchester United striker for many years.
“So we paid a lot — to have a striker with his history in our club. A guy is always thinking about football. He’s really into it. It’s good because you don’t have to think about that young guy and that aspect.”
However, his attitude left Amorim a small problem. Both Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho were irritated after arriving in the UK – abandoning both within eight months of the first fallout.
“I don’t need to tell Ben, “This is Manchester United, you’re a lot of pressure, you have to perform, you have to be physically prepared, we have to be ready for all the games, it’s like to do it.
“He’s listening and he wants to play, so that’s really good.”
Unlike most people who have crossed his path since arriving in Manchester, pushing Sesco to enjoy himself while trying to reach his seemingly universally popular possibilities is a good problem for Amorim.
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