Ruben Amorim will be worried sick after re-analysing Benjamin Sesko’s Slovenia display
Ruben Amorim will be seriously concerned about Benjamin Sesko’s ability to make a difference at Man United after he struggled to shine once again on international duty for Slovenia.
Benjamin Sesko bagged 13 goals in 33 Bundesliga appearances for RB Leipzig last season, and was the subject of serious transfer interest from a number of Premier League sides over the summer prior to his move to Man United.
Sesko joined Man United from Leipzig at the start of August for a reported £66.4million, but he has struggled to adapt to English football so far with no goal contributions in his first four competitive appearances for the club.
The international break will have provided him some relief from the pressure to perform for the Red Devils in the Premier League, but Sesko was “almost invisible” for Slovenia against Sweden as he had the least touches of any outfield player.
His woes continued in Slovenia’s latest clash against Switzerland on Monday (8 September), and Ruben Amorim will be genuinely worried that he has not got what it takes to make an impact at Old Trafford following yet another poor performance.
Benjamin Sesko fails to shine for Slovenia v Switzerland – Ruben Amorim will be horrified
Slovenia had shown some encouraging signs in their 2-2 draw against Sweden on Friday (5 September), but any hopes of a surprise three points against Switzerland were dashed early on as their hosts raced into a 3-0 lead before half-time.
Sesko was poor against Switzerland as he went missing for his country once again, with just one shot on goal taken and only seven of his 12 passes completed during his 94 minutes on the pitch [Fotmob].
Some Man United fans were shocked by a rare moment of quality from Sesko in the first-half, as he showed decent athleticism to pluck the ball out of the air with his foot, but that was about as good as his showing got with the game effectively reduced to a training session for the second-half.
Much like their previous game against Sweden, Sesko finished the Switzerland clash with the last touches of any outfield player to play 90 minutes (21), while he also won only one of his three ground duels [Fotmob].
As he catches up on his players’ international exploits, Red Devils boss Amorim will have to watch Sesko’s performance on Monday through gritted teeth, as it will not send him any encouraging signs that the 22-year-old is going to have a new lease of life when he returns to Manchester this week.
The head-coach will likely be genuinely worried that Sesko could struggle to get up to speed with the Premier League and the lofty demands of a Man United striker anytime soon, especially as he has done nothing to warrant a starting place, but needs more minutes to help him net his first goal for the club.
Benjamin Sesko’s teething problems set to continue amid Bryan Mbeumo latest
Sesko is obviously a good striker, as shown by his goalscoring exploits in Germany and at international level, but things have not gone his way for a number of reasons so far in Manchester.
Amorim has failed to fully trust him, for one, with his only start so far coming away at Grimsby Town as United were humiliated by League Two opponents, meaning he is yet to get up to speed with the rigours of Premier League football.
The formation that the Portuguese boss plays is also not set up to get the best out of the 22-year-old, with no wingers to deliver crosses into his six foot, five inch frame, and the likes of Diogo Dalot, Patrick Dorgu and Amad all struggling to impress going forward at wing-back.
Amorim needs to aid his struggling striker’s woes by giving him another chance from the off soon, but that seems unlikely to happen with Bryan Mbeumo having scored in each of his last two games as a centre-forward for the Red Devils.
In fact, the next game in which Sesko might be handed a start is really not clear right now, with the club not in any cup competitions until the FA Cup in January, and also not partaking in European football, so things could go from bad to worse for him in the near future after this latest poor showing.