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Manchester United made the brave decision to sign another young striker in the summer in Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig.
The club’s previous attempt did not end well when Rasmus Hojlund, then still only 20, struggled in the Premier League and was eventually loaned out to Napoli last summer.
The Slovenian has scored twice while providing one assist, but he still needs time to adapt, and Ruben Amorim doesn’t have the luxury of time at the moment.
The 22-year-old is injured and with no other senior striker in the club’s ranks, the head coach will have to be creative to find a solution.
Why Benjamin Sesko over Gyokeres
It is known that Amorim wanted a ready-made option in the form of Viktor Gyokeres, his protege from the Sporting CP, but INEOS rejected him in favor of Benjamin Sesko.
According to The timesthe new data-driven approach led to the arrival of the Slovenian international. Statistics showed that Sesko is much better suited to Amorim’s methods due to the frequency of off-the-ball runs. Not to mention his desire to come to Old Trafford.
Gyokeres has six goals to his name for Arsenal, but he is 27 and deserves a higher wage. The Swede also wanted to play in the Champions League and ultimately rejected his former manager.
“There are no concerns about Sesko, even though he has scored twice since his £74m move from RB Leipzig. United are happy with his movement without the ball and he is so determined to make his mark that he is often at Carrington at 8.30am, much earlier than his colleagues.”
Fans must maintain confidence
“United relied on data to make their summer signings – they chose Sesko over Viktor Gyokeres because he gets off the ball more – and there has been a big boost in that department, led by summer recruit Mike Sansoni, who joined the club as director of data after 11 years with the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
Sansoni, who works closely with Wilcox, oversees United’s drive to become a “fully data-driven club that will lead to success on and off the pitch” and has access to massive data models that can display the data of tens of thousands of players. United believe they are in the top four clubs when it comes to access to data.
“Mbeumo, Cunha and Sesko have ticked another box that has nothing to do with dates. They wanted to play for the club and that is why they turned down offers for bigger amounts from Newcastle United.”
It is a long-term project and there are positive signs. Now that he is returning from injury, Benjamin Sesko has to tell his story on the field. There are encouraging signs, but United need more from their starting striker.
Feature image Matt McNulty via Getty Images
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